BIRD  BISHOP 


>3.  So.  IQoq. 


4 


a***  ■% 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Division  US  709 

.~B6& 
v.l 


Section 


BY 

ISABELLA  BIRD-BISHOP 

Unbeaten  Tracks  in  Japan. 

Illustrated.  8°  . 

$2.50 

The  Golden  Chersonese. 

Illustrated.  8°  . 

$2.00 

A Lady’s  Life  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Illustrated.  8° 

$i-75 

Six  Months  in  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Illustrated.  8°  . 

$2.25 

The  Yangtze  Valley  and  Beyond. 

With  1 17  illustrations.  2 vols.  8°. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 

New  York  and  London 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/yangtzevalleybeyOObird_O 


Frontispiece 


THE  AUTHOR  IN  MANCHU  DRESS 


VOL.  I. 


THE 

YANGTZE  VALLEY 
AND  BEYOND 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  JOURNEYS  IN  CHINA,  CHIEFLY 
IN  THE  PROVINCE  OF  SZE  CHUAN  AND  AMONG 
THE  MAN-TZE  OF  THE  SOMO  TERRITORY 


BY 


MRS.  J.  F.  BISHOP 


(ISABELLA  L.  BIRD),  F.R.G.S. 


HONORARY  FELLOW  OF  THE  ROYAL  SCOTTISH  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY 
HONORARY  MEMBER  OF  THE  ORIENTAL  SOCIETY  OF  PEKING,  ETC. 


WITH  MAP  AND  Il6  ILLUSTRATIONS 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES 

Volume  I 

New  York:  G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 

London  : JOHN  MURRAY 


1900 


Copyright,  1899 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 


XEbe  Iftntc&erboc&er  press,  Iftew  Worh 


DEDICATED  BY  PERMISSION 

TO  THE 

MARQUESS  OF  SALISBURY,  K.G. 

WITH  THE  AUTHOR’S  PROFOUND  RESPECT,  AND  ADMIRATION 
OF  THE  NOBLE  AND  DISINTERESTED  SERVICES 
WHICH  HE  HAS  RENDERED  TO  THE 


BRITISH  EMPIRE 


PREFACE 


HESE  journeys  in  China,  concluding  in  1897, 


1 of  which  the  following  pages  are  the  record, 
were  undertaken  for  recreation  and  interest  solely, 
after  some  months  of  severe  travelling  in  Korea. 
I had  no  intention  of  writing  a book,  and  it  was 
not  till  I came  home,  and  China  came  very  markedly 
to  the  front,  and  friends  urged  upon  me  that  my 
impressions  of  the  Yangtze  Valley  might  be  a 
useful  contribution  to  popular  knowledge  of  that 
much-discussed  region,  that  I began  to  arrange  my 
materials  in  their  present  form.  They  consist  of 
journal  letters,  photographs,  and  notes  from  a 
brief  diary. 

In  correcting  them,  and  in  the  identification  of 
places,  not  an  easy  matter,  I have  been  much  in- 
debted to  the  late  Captain  Gill’s  River  of  Golden 
Sand , The  Gorges  of  the  Yangtze , by  Mr.  A.  Little, 
three  papers  on  “Exploration  in  Western  China,” 
by  Mr.  Colborne  Baber,  in  the  Geographical  Jour- 
nal of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society , and  very 


VI 


Preface 


specially  to  the  official  reports  of  H.B.M.’s  Con- 
suls at  the  Yangtze  ports.  I have  denied  myself 
the  pleasure  of  reading  any  of  the  recent  litera- 
ture on  China,  and  it  was  only  when  my  task  was 
done  that  I glanced  over  some  of  the  later  chapters 
in  The  Break  Up  of  China  and  China  in  Trans- 
formation. For  a great  part  of  my  inland  journey 
I have  been  unable  to  find  any  authorities  to  refer 
to,  and  as  regards  personal  observation  I agree 
sadly  with  the  dictum  of  Socrates— “ The  body  is 
a hindrance  to  acquiring  knowledge,  and  sight  and 
hearing  are  not  to  be  trusted.” 

I cannot  hope  to  escape  errors,  but  I have  made 
a laborious  effort  to  be  accurate,  and  I trust  and 
believe  that  they  are  not  of  material  importance,  and 
that  in  the  main  this  volume  will  be  found  to  con- 
vey a truthful  impression  of  the  country  and  its 
people.  The  conflicting  statements  made  on  every 
subject  by  well-informed  foreign  residents  in  China, 
as  elsewhere,  constitute  a difficulty  for  a traveller, 
and  homogeneous  as  China  is,  yet  with  regard  to 
very  many  customs,  what  is  true  in  one  region  is  not 
true  in  another.  Even  in  the  single  province  of 
Sze  Chuan  there  is  a very  marked  unlikeness  be- 
tween one  district  and  another  in  house  and  temple 
architecture,  methods  of  transit,  customs  in  trade, 
and  in  much  else. 


Preface 


vii 

I have  dwelt  at  some  length  on  “ Beaten  Tracks’’ 
— i.  e.,  treaty  ports  and  the  Great  River, — though 
these  have  been  described  by  many  writers,  for  the 
reason  that  each  one  looks  at  them  from  a different 
standpoint,  and  helps  to  create  a complete  whole. 
The  illustrations  in  this  volume,  with  the  exception 
of  the  reproductions  of  some  Chinese  drawings, 
and  nine  which  friends  have  kindly  permitted  me 
to  use,  are  from  my  own  photographs.  The  spell- 
ing of  place  names  needs  an  explanation.  I have 
not  the  Chinese  characters  for  them,  and  in  many 
cases  have  only  been  able  to  represent  by  English 
letters  the  sounds  as  they  reached  my  ear  ; but, 
wherever  possible,  the  transliteration  given  by  Con- 
sul Playfair  in  his  published  list  of  Chinese  Place 
Names  has  been  adopted,  and  with  regard  to  a few 
well-known  cities  the  familiar  but  unscholarly 
spelling  has  been  retained.  To  prevent  confu- 
sion the  names  of  provinces  have  been  printed  in 
capitals. 

1 am  painfully  conscious  of  the  many  demerits 
of  this  volume,  but  recognising  the  extreme  im- 
portance of  increasing  by  every  means  the  know- 
ledge of,  and  interest  in,  China  and  its  people,  I 
venture  to  ask  for  it  from  the  public  the  same 
kindly  criticism  with  which  my  former  records  of 
Asiatic  travel  have  been  received,  and  to  hope  that 


Preface 


viii 

it  may  be  accepted  as  an  honest  attempt  to  make 
a contribution  to  the  data  on  which  public  opinion 
on  China  and  Chinese  questions  must  be  formed. 

Isabella  L.  Bishop. 

October , 1899. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I. — Geographical  and  Introductory  . . i 

II. — “The  Model  Settlement”  ...  25 

III.  — Hangchow 47 

IV.  — The  Hangchow  Medical  Mission  Hospitals  66 

V.- — Shanghai  to  Hankow  (Hankau)  . . 83 

VI. — The  Foreigners  — Hankow  and  British 

Trade 93 

VII. — Chinese  Hankow  (Hankau)  . . . 104 

VIII. — Hankow  to  Ichang 123 

IX. — Ichang  ........  143 

X. — The  Upper  Yangtze  .....  156 

XI. — Rapids  of  the  Upper  Yangtze  . . . 168 

XII. — Rapids  and  Trackers  ....  185 

XIII.  — Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze  . . . 198 

XIV.  — The  Yangtze  and  Kuei  Fu  218 

XV. — New  Year’s  Day  at  Kuei-Chow  Fu  . . 234 

XVI. — Kuei  Fu  to  Wan  Hsien  ....  243 

XVII. — Chinese  Charities  .....  263 

XVIII. — From  Wan  Hsien  to  San  Tsan-Pu  . . 283 


VOL.  I. 


X 


Contents 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX. — Sze  Chuan  Travelling  ....  301 

XX. — San-Tsan-Pu  to  Liang-Shan  Hsien  . . 313 

XXL — Liang-Shan  Hsien  to  Hsia-Shan-Po  . 326 

XXII. — Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao  . . . 346 

XXIII. — Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze  . . . 362 

XXIV. — Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  . . 384 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Author  in  Manchu  Dress  (Moffat,  Edin- 


burgh) .......  Frontispiece 

Zigzag  Bridge  and  Tea  House,  Shanghai  . . 45 

A Pah , or  Haulover  ......  54 

West  Gate,  Hangchow 57 

Pavilion  in  Imperial  Garden,  Si-Hu  ...  59 

God  of  Thunder,  Lin-Yang 63 

C.M.S.  Mission  Hospital,  Hangchow  ...  67 

A Street  in  Hankow  (John  Thomson,  F.R.G.S.)  . 109 

Coffins  Awaiting  Burial m 

Hankow  from  Han  Yang 113 

Female  Beggar  in  Mat  Hut  . . . . .116 

A Travelling  Restaurant 119 

Chinese  Soldiers  . . . . . . -131 

Military  Officer 133 

A Fisherman  and  Plunge  Net  ....  136 

The  Tablet  of  Confucius 145 

Entrance  to  Ichang  Gorge  ....  161 

The  Author’s  Boat  .......  165 

The  Hsin-Tan 169 

Bed  of  the  Yangtze  in  Winter,  Ta-Tan  Rapid  . 173 

Ping-Shu  Gorge,  Hsin-Tan 181 

VOL.  I. 

xi 


xii  List  of  Illustrations 


PAGE 


The  Mitan  Gorge  .... 

187 

Temple  near  Kueichow 

191 

Trackers’  Houses  .... 

205 

Author’s  Trackers  at  Dinner 

229 

A Chinese  Punchinello 

235 

Temple  of  Chang-Fei 

245 

Pagoda  near  Wan  Hsien  . 

247 

Guest  Hall,  C.I.M.,  Wan  Hsien 

253 

Bridge  at  Wan  Hsien 

261 

A Chinese  Burial  Charity 

269 

Baggage  Coolies  .... 

289 

A Pai-Fang 

291 

Granite  Dragon  Pillar  . 

293 

Pass  of  Shen-Kia-Chao 

3i5 

Wayside  Shrine  ..... 

318 

A Chinese  Chatsworth 

329 

Bridge  and  Inn  of  Shan-Rang-Sar  . 

335 

A Porcelain  Temple  .... 

337 

The  Water  Buffalo  .... 

34° 

Ordinary  Covered  Bridge 

343 

A Group  of  Kuans  (Mandarins) 

373 

Lady’s  Sedan  Chair  (Chinese  Propriety)  (Dr. 
near)  ........ 

Kin- 

377 

A Sze  Chuan  Farmhouse  . 

389 

A Sze  Chuan  Market-Place  . 

391 

Pedagogue  and  Pupils 

399 

Recessed  Divinities,  Chia-Ling  River. 

409 

THE  YANGTZE  VALLEY  AND  BEYOND 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

CHAPTER  I 

GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  INTRODUCTORY 


HE  events  which  have  rendered  the  Yangtze 


1 Valley  literally  a “sphere  of  interest” 
throughout  the  British  Empire  lie  outside  the  pur- 
view of  these  volumes.  Few  people,  unless  they 
have  been  compelled  to  the  task  by  circumstances 
or  interests,  are  fully  acquainted  with  the  magni- 
tude and  resources  of  the  great  basin  which  in  the 
spring  of  1898  was  claimed  as  the  British  “sphere 
of  influence,”  and  I honestly  confess  that  it  was 
only  at  the  end  of  eight  months  (out  of  journeys  of 
fifteen  months  in  China)  spent  on  the  Yangtze,  its 
tributaries,  and  the  regions  watered  by  them  that  I 
even  began  to  learn  their  magnificent  capabilities, 
and  the  energy,  resourcefulness,  capacities,  and 
“ backbone  ” of  their  enormous  population. 

Geographically  the  Yangtze  Valley,  or  drainage 


2 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

area,  may  be  taken  as  extending  from  the  90th  to 
the  122nd  meridian  of  east  longitude,  and  as  in- 
cluding all  or  most  of  the  important  provinces  of 
Sze  Chuan,  Hupeh,  Hunan,  Kiangsi,  Nganhui, 
Kiangsu,  and  Honan,  with  considerable  portions 
of  Che  Kiang,  Kueichow,  and  Yunnan,  and  even 
includes  the  south-eastern  drainage  areas  of  Kan- 
suh,  Shensi,  and  Shantung.  Geographically  there 
can  be  no  possible  mistake  about  the  limits  of  this 
basin.1  Its  area  is  estimated  at  about  650,000 
square  miles,  and  its  population,  one  of  the  most 
peaceable  and  industrious  on  earth,  at  from  1 70,- 
000,000  to  180,000,000. 

The  actual  length  of  the  Yangtze  is  unknown, 
but  is  believed  not  to  exceed  3000  miles.  Rising, 
according  to  the  best  geographical  information,  al- 
most due  north  of  Calcutta,  its  upper  waters  have 
been  partially  explored  by  Colonel  Prjevalsky  and 
Mr.  Rockhill  up  to  an  altitude  in  the  Tang-la 
Mountains  of  16,400  feet,  and  as  far  as  lat.  340 
43'  N.  and  long.  90°  48'  E.  2 

It  has  thus  been  ascertained  that  the  Great  River, 
though  not  tracked  actually  to  its  source,  rises  on 

1 Politically,  as  H.M.’s  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  de- 
fined it  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  May  9,  1899,  it  is  “ the  provinces  ad- 
joining the  Yangtze  River  and  Honan  and  Che  Kiang.” 

2 The  lowest  latitude  which  it  is  believed  to  reach  is  26°  N.,  east  of  its 
junction  with  the  Yalung  at  its  great  southerly  bend,  and  its  junction  with 
the  ocean  is  in  lat.  31°  N. 


3 


Geographical  and  Introductory 

the  south-east  edge  of  the  Central  Asian  steppes, 
and,  after  draining  an  extensive  and  little-known 
basin,  pursues  a tempestuous  course  under  the 
name  of  the  Chin  Sha,  hemmed  in  by  parallel 
ranges,  and  raging  through  gigantic  rifts  in  Yun- 
nan and  South-western  Sze  Chuan,  which  culmin- 
ate in  grandeur  at  the  Sun  Bridge,  a mountain 
about  20,000  feet  in  altitude,  “ which  abuts  on  the 
river  in  a precipice  or  precipices  which  must  be 
8000  feet  above  its  waters  ” (Baber). 

It  is  not  till  these  savage  gorges  are  passed  and 
the  Chin  Sha  reaches  Ping  Shan,  forty  miles  above 
Sui  Fu,  that  it  becomes  serviceable  to  man.  In 
long.  940  48'  Colonel  Prjevalsky  describes  it  as  a 
rapid  torrent,  with  a depth  of  from  five  to  seven 
feet,  a bed,  upwards  of  a mile  wide,  covered  in 
summer,  and  a width  in  autumn  of  750  feet  at 
about  2800  miles  from  its  mouth.  In  travelling 
from  its  supposed  source  to  Ping  Shan,  a distance 
roughly  estimated  at  1500  miles,  its  fall  must  be 
fully  15,000  feet  (assuming  that  the  altitude  of  its 
source  is  16,400  feet),1  while  for  the  same  distance 
(again  roughly  estimated)  from  Ping  Shan  to 
Shanghai  the  fall  is  only  1025  feet,  and  from  Han- 
kow to  the  sea,  a distance  of  600  miles,  only  an 
inch  per  mile. 

1 The  Geographical  Journal , September,  1898,  p.  227:  “The  Yangtze 
Chiang,”  W.  R.  Carles,  H.B.M.’s  Consul  at  Swatow. 


4 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


The  Min  or  Fu  appears  to  have  its  source  in  the 
Baian  Kara  range,  called  in  Tibetan  Maniak-tso,1 
and  joins  the  Chin  Sha  at  Sui  Fu.  While  the 
Chin  Sha  is  only  navigable  for  about  forty  miles 
above  this  junction,  the  Min  is  navigable  to 
Chengtu,  about  266  miles  from  Sui  Fu,  and  by  an- 
other branch  to  Kuan  Hsien,  forty  miles  higher. 
I descended  the  Min  from  Chengtu  to  Sui  Fu  in  a 
fair-sized  boat  at  the  very  lowest  of  low  water.  As 
being  navigable  for  a far  greater  distance,  the 
Chinese  geographers  regard  the  Min  as  the  true 
“ Great  River,”  the  superior  length  of  the  Chin 
Sha  not  being  taken  into  account.  It  should  be 
noted  that  the  Chinese  only  give  their  great  river 
the  name  of  Yangtze  for  the  two  hundred  miles  of 
its  tidal  waters. 2 

After  the  River  of  Golden  Sand  and  the  Min 
unite  at  Sui  Fu,  the  Great  River  asserts  its  right 
to  be  regarded  as  the  most  important  of  Asiatic 
waterways  by  furnishing,  by  its  main  stream  and 
the  tributaries  which  thereafter  enter  it,  routes  easy 


1 Land  of  the  Lamas , p.  218. 

* It  is  the  Mur-usu  (“  Tortuous  River  ”)  in  Tibet,  the  Chin  or  Kin  Sha 
where  it  is  the  boundary  between  Tibet  and  China,  and  from  the  junction 
of  the  Yalung  to  Sui  Fu  the  Chin  Ho.  Between  Sui  Fu  and  Wan  Hsien  it 
is  called  the  Ta  Ho  (“  Great  River  ”)  and  the  Min  Chiang.  At  and  below 
Sha-shih  it  is  the  Ching  Chiang,  and  below  Hankow  for  400  miles  it  is 
called  the  Chiang  Ch’ang  Chiang  (“Long  River”),  or  Ta-Kuan  Chiang 
(“Great  Official  River”). 


Geographical  and  Introductory  5 

of  navigation  through  the  rich  and  crowded  centre 
of  China,  with  Canton  by  the  Fu-ling,  with  only 
two  portages,  and  with  Peking  (Tientsin)  itself  by 
the  Grand  Canal,  which  it  cuts  in  twain  at  Chin 
Kiang. 

It  is  only  of  the  navigable  affluents  of  theYangtze 
that  mention  need  be  made  here.  The  raging  and 
tremendous  torrents  foaming  through  rifts  as  colos- 
sal as  its  own,  and  at  present  unexplored,  lie  rather 
within  the  province  of  the  geographer. 

In  estimating  the  importance  of  these  affluents  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  Y angtze,  of  which 
they  are  feeders,  is  not  an  outlet,  but  the  outlet,  for 
the  commerce  of  Sze  Chuan,  which,  owing  to  its 
size,  population,  wealth,  and  resources,  may  be  truly 
termed  the  empire-province  of  China. 

On  the  north  or  left  bank  the  Min,  before  unit- 
ing with  the  Chin  Sha  at  Sui  Fu,  receives  near  the 
beautiful  trading  city  of  Chia-ling  Fu  the  Tung  or 
Tatu,  a river  with  a volume  of  water  so  much  larger 
than  its  own  as  to  warrant  the  view  taken  by  Mr. 
Baber  and  Mr.  von  Rosthorn  that  it  ought  to  be 
considered  the  main  stream,  and  the  Ya,  which  is 
navigable  for  bamboo  rafts  up  to  Ya-chow,  the 
centre  of  the  brick  tea  trade  with  Tibet.  After 
this  the  Yangtze  at  Lu-chow  receives  the  To,  which 
gives  access  to  one  of  the  richest  regions  of  the 


6 The  Yangtze  Valley 

province,  and  at  Chungking,  the  trading  capital, 
the  Chia-ling. 

This  is  in  itself  a river  of  great  importance,  be- 
ing navigable  for  over  500  miles,  actually  into  the 
province  of  Kansu h.  It  receives  several  noble 
navigable  feeders,  among  the  most  important  of 
which  are  the  Ku,  entering  it  a little  above  Ho- 
chow,  the  Honton  or  Fu,  and  the  Pai  Shui.  It 
passes  for  much  of  its  course  through  a rich  and 
fertile  region,  and  through  a country  which  pro- 
duces large  quantities  of  salt,  and  it  bisects  the  vast 
coal-fields  which  underlie  Central  Sze  Chuan.  On 
the  right  or  south  bank  above  the  gorges,  at  the 
picturesque  city  of  Fu-chow,  the  Fu-ling,  which  has 
three  aliases,  enters  the  Yangtze.  This  is  an  afflu- 
ent of  much  commercial  importance,  as  being  the 
first  of  a network  of  rivers  by  which,  with  only  two 
portages,  goods  from  the  Far  West  can  reach  Can- 
ton, and  as  affording,  with  its  connections  the  Yuan 
Ho  and  the  Tungting  Lake,  an  alternative  route 
to  Hankow,  by  which  the  risks  of  the  rapids  are 
avoided. 

After  the  Yangtze  enters  the  gorges,  which  at 
one  point,  at  least,  narrow  it  to  a width  of  150 
yards,  there  are  no  affluents  worthy  of  special  no- 
tice until  I chang  is  passed,  when  the  Han,  naviga- 
ble for  cargo  boats  for  1 200  miles  of  north-westerly 


7 


Geographical  and  Introductory 

windings  from  its  mouth  at  Hankow,  takes  the  first 
place,  followed  by  the  Yuan,  Hsiang,  Kan,  Shu, 
and  others,  which  join  the  Yangtze  through  the 
Tungting  and  Poyang  Lakes.  These  rivers,  spe- 
cially the  Han,  are  themselves  swelled  by  a great 
number  of  navigable  feeders,  which  east  of  Sha- 
shih,  in  the  Great  Plain,  are  connected  by  a vast 
network  of  navigable  canals,  the  differences  in  level 
being  overcome  by  the  ingenious  contrivance  called 
the  pah.  These  natural  and  artificial  waterways 
are  among  the  chief  elements  of  the  prosperity  of 
the  Yangtze  Valley,  affording  cheap  transit  for 
merchandise,  land  carriage  in  China,  mile  for  mile, 
costing  twenty  times  as  much  as  water  carriage. 

The  time  of  the  annual  rise  and  fall  of  the  Great 
River  can  be  counted  on  with  tolerable  certainty. 
With  regard  to  the  rise,  from  what  I saw  and  heard 
I am  inclined  to  attach  more  importance  to  the 
swelling  of  its  Yunnan  affluents  during  the  south- 
west monsoon  than  to  the  melting  of  those  snows 
which,  as  seen  from  the  stupendous  precipice  of 
Omi-shan,  are  one  of  the  grandest  sights  on  earth 
— the  long  and  glittering  barrier  which  secludes 
the  last  of  the  hermit  nations. 

The  rise  of  the  Yangtze  is  from  forty  feet  or 
thereabouts  at  Hankow  to  ninety  feet  and  upwards 
at  Chungking.  During  three  months  of  the  year 


8 The  Yangtze  Valley 

the  rush  of  the  vast  volume  of  water  is  so  tremend- 
ous that  traffic  is  mainly  suspended,  and  even  in 
early  June  many  hundreds  of  the  large  junks  are 
laid  up  until  the  autumn  in  quiet  reaches  between 
Chungking  and  Wan  Hsien.  The  annual  rise  of 
the  river,  as  well  as  the  rapids,  has  to  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  the  discussion  of  the  question  as 
to  whether  steam  navigation  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 
can  be  made  commercially  profitable. 

The  actual  rise,  which  is  more  reliable  than  that 
of  the  Nile,  begins  late  in  March,  is  at  its  height 
early  in  August,  and  then  gradually  falls  until  De- 
cember or  January.  Late  in  June,  when  I de- 
scended the  Great  River,  its  enormous  submerged 
area  presented  the  same  appearance  on  a large 
scale  as  the  limited  Nile  Valley — an  expanse  of 
muddy  water,  out  of  which  low  mounds,  probably 
of  great  antiquity,  rise,  crested  with  trees  and 
villages,  with  boats  moored  to  the  houses. 

The  country  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Shanghai 
is  a fairly  good  example  of  the  characteristics  of 
the  Great  Plain.  In  ordinary  dry  weather  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil  is  not  more  than  five  feet  above 
the  water-level,  and  as  seen  from  any  pagoda  the 
whole  country,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  or 
three  low  Tsing-pu  hills,  which  are  seldom  visible, 
presents  the  aspect,  familiar  to  dwellers  in  the  fens, 


Geographical  and  Introductory  9 

of  a cultivated  dead  level,  intersected  by  numerous 
canals  and  creeks  and  by  embankments  for  the 
preservation  of  the  fields  from  inundation.  Much 
the  same  sort  of  view  in  winter  may  be  seen  from 
any  elevated  point  for  hundreds  of  miles,  modified 
by  a few  ranges  of  hills  of  somewhat  higher  eleva- 
tion, wider  creeks,  and  shallow,  marshy  lakes. 

It  is  not  solely  by  deposits  of  rich  alluvium 
brought  down  by  the  annual  rise  of  the  river  that 
the  soil  of  the  Great  Plain  is  gradually  raised. 
The  agency  of  dust-storms  is  an  important  one, 
and  these  occur  extensively  throughout  Northern 
and  Central  China,  moving  much  material  from 
place  to  place.  I saw  a dust-storm  at  Kueichow 
which  lasted  for  seven  hours,  burying  some  hovels 
and  much  agricultural  country,  and  even  producing 
a metamorphosis  of  the  rocky  bed  of  the  Yangtze. 
Such  storms  have  been  observed  as  far  east  as 
Shanghai,  but  their  occurrence  at  Kueichow  shows 
that  their  area  is  not  limited  to  the  Great  Plain  or 
even  to  the  region  east  of  the  mountain  barrier 
between  Hupeh  and  Sze  Chuan. 

It  is  not  till  the  Yangtze  reaches  Sha-shih  that 
its  character  completely  changes.  The  first  note 
of  change  is  a great  embankment,  thirty  feet  high, 
which  protects  the  region  from  inundation.  Below 
Sha-shih  the  vast  river  becomes  mixed  up  with  a 


io  The  Yangtze  Valley 

network  of  lakes  and  rivers,  connected  by  canals, 
the  area  of  the  important  Tungting  Lake  being 
over  2000  square  miles.  The  Han  alone,  with  its 
many  affluents  and  canals,  disperses  goods  through 
the  interior  for  1200  miles  north  of  its  mouth  at 
Hankow,  but  there  are  some  difficult  rapids  to 
surmount.  The  Hsiang  and  the  Yuan,  uniting 
with  the  Yangtze  at  the  Tungting  Lake,  are  navi- 
gable nearly  as  far  to  the  south.  The  Kan,  which 
unites  with  the  Yangtze  through  the  Poyang  Lake, 
which  has  an  area  of  1800  square  miles,  is  navi- 
gable to  the  Mei-ling  pass,  near  the  Kwantung 
frontier. 

The  delta  of  the  river  is  indicated  below  Wu-sueh 
by  even  a greater  labyrinth  of  tributaries,  lakes,  and 
canals,  the  area  of  the  Tai  Hu  and  the  other  lakes 
in  the  southern  delta  being  estimated  at  1200 
square  miles  and  the  length  of  the  channels  used 
for  navigation  and  irrigation  at  36,000  miles.  In 
summer,  after  the  spring  crops  have  been  removed, 
the  whole  region  is  under  water.  The  population 
migrates  to  mounds,  and  the  temporary  villages 
communicate  by  boats. 

At  Chinkiang  the  Grand  Canal  enters  the  Yangtze 
from  Hangchow,  and  leaves  it  on  the  left  bank, 
some  miles  away,  for  Tientsin.  On  that  north 
bank  engineering  works,  extending  over  a vast 


Geographical  and  Introductory  n 

area  of  country,  have  been  constructed,  evidencing 
the  former  energy  and  skill  of  the  Chinese. 

These  have  diverted  the  river  Huai,  which  with  its 
seventy-two  tributaries  form  important  commercial 
routes  to  North  An  Hui  and  Honan,  from  its  natu- 
ral course  to  the  sea,  and  have  compelled  the  bulk 
of  its  waters  to  discharge  themselves  into  the 
Yangtze  through  openings  in  a large  canal  which 
runs  nearly  parallel  with  it  for  140  miles.  By 
means  of  innumerable  artificial  waterways,  the  ex- 
cavation of  some  lakes,  and  the  enlargement  of 
others,  the  Huai  no  longer  has  any  existence  as  a 
river  east  of  the  Grand  Canal,  most  of  this  work 
having  been  carried  out  to  prevent  undue  pressure 
on  the  bank  of  that  great  waterway  at  any  one 
point  south  of  the  old  course  of  the  Hoang  Ho. 

North  of  the  canal,  and  parallel  with  the  Yangtze, 
lies  a parallelogram,  the  extent  of  which  is  esti- 
mated by  Pere  Gandar  at  8876  square  miles,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  productive  rice-fields  in  China. 
This  is  below  the  water-level.  It  has  immense 
dykes  protecting  it  from  the  sea,  pierced  by  eighteen 
drainage  canals,  but  its  chief  drainage  is  into  the 
Yangtze.  Waterways  under  constant  and  careful 
supervision  intersect  this  singular  region.  For  the 
remaining  distance  the  mighty  flood  of  the  Yangtze 
rolls  majestically  on  through  absolutely  level 


12 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

country,  in  which  in  winter  embankments  and 
waterways  are  everywhere  seen.  The  influence 
of  the  tide  is  felt  for  about  200  miles. 

There  is  an  ancient  Chinese  proverb  regarding 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  River  : “ Lo,  this  mighty 
current  hastens  to  its  imperial  audience  with  the 
ocean.”  But  opaque  yellow  water  and  mud  flats, 
extending  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  leave  the  im- 
perial grandeur  to  the  imagination. 

Tennyson’s  description  of  the  work  of  rivers  as 
being  “ to  sow  the  dust  of  continents  to  be,”  applies 
forcibly  to  the  Yangtze,  which,  after  creating  the 
vast  alluvial  plains  which  stretch  from  Sha-shih  for 
800  miles  to  the  ocean  and  endowing  them  in  its 
annual  overflow  with  sufficient  fresh  material  to 
keep  up  an  unsurpassed  fertility,  has  yet  enough  to 
spare  to  discharge  770,000  feet  of  solid  substance 
every  second  into  the  sea,  according  to  scientific 
estimates.  The  Yangtze  has  done  much  to  create, 
within  comparatively  recent  years,  at  least  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  province  of  Kiang  Su  and  the 
island  of  Tsung-ming  near  Shanghai,  capable  of 
supporting  a population  of  considerably  over  1,000,- 
000  souls.  Another  marked  instance  of  its  power 
to  create  is  shown  near  the  treaty  port  of  Chin- 
kiang.  The  British  fleet  ascended  the  Yangtze,  so 
recently  as  in  1842,  by  a channel  south  of  the 


Geographical  and  Introductory  13 

beautiful  Golden  Island.  Now,  instead  of  the 
channel,  there  is  an  expanse  of  wooded  and  cultiva- 
ted land  sprinkled  with  villages. 

Nearly  a mile  wide  600  miles  from  its  mouth, 
nearly  three-quarters  of  a mile  at  1000,  and  630 
yards  at  1500,  with  a volume  of  water  which,  at 
1000  miles  from  the  sea,  is  estimated  at  244  times 
that  of  the  Thames  at  London  Bridge,  with  a sum- 
mer depth  of  ninety  feet  at  Chungking  and  of  ten 
feet  at  its  few  shallow  places  at  Hankow  when  at  its 
lowest  winter  level,  with  a capacity  for  a rise  of 
forty  feet  before  it  overflows  its  banks,  with  an 
annual  rise  and  fall  more  reliable  than  those  of  the 
Nile,  with  navigable  tributaries  penetrating  the 
richest  and  most  populous  regions  of  China,  navi- 
gable in  the  summer  as  far  as  Hankow  for  the 
largest  ships  in  the  world,  and  during  the  whole 
year  to  I chang,  400  miles  farther,  for  fine  river 
steamers  carrying  large  cargoes,  even  the  Upper 
Yangtze,  that  region  of  grandeur,  perils,  and  sur- 
prises, is  traversed  annually  by  7000  junks,  em- 
ploying a quarter  of  a million  of  men.  During  my 
own  descent  of  the  Min  and  Yangtze  from  Chengtu 
to  Shanghai,  a distance  by  the  windings  of  the 
river  of  about  2000  miles,  I was  never  out  of  sight 
of  native  traffic,  and  those  who,  like  myself,  have 
waited  for  two  or  three  days  at  the  foot  of  the  great 


14 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

rapids  for  the  turn  to  ascend,  can  form  some  idea  of 
how  vast  that  traffic  is. 

The  navigable  portion  of  the  Yangtze,  as  regarded 
from  the  sea,  naturally  divides  itself  into  three 
stretches,  the  first,  of  1000  miles,  rolling  as  a broad 
turbid  flood,  traversed  by  several  lines  of  steamers, 
through  the  deep  grey  alluvium  of  some  of  the  rich- 
est and  most  populous  provinces  of  China,  mainly 
its  own  creation  ; the  second,  the  region  between 
Ichang  and  Kueichow  Fu,  through  which  hitherto 
goods  have  been  carried  by  junks  alone,  in  which 
it  cleaves  the  confused  mass  of  the  Hupeh  ranges 
by  a series  of  magnificent  gorges  and  tremendous 
cataracts  ; and  the  third,  the  long  stretch  of  rapids 
and  races  between  Kueichow  Fu  and  Sui  Fu  at  its 
junction  with  the  Min. 

It  is  not  possible  to  exaggerate  the  sublimity  and 
risks  of  the  navigation  of  the  Upper  Yangtze, 
especially  at  certain  seasons.  Of  the  vast  fleet  of 
junks  which  navigate  its  perilous  waters,  five 
hundred  on  an  average  are  annually  wrecked,  and 
one-tenth  of  the  enormous  importation  of  cotton 
into  Chungking  arrives  damaged  by  water.  Yet  so 
ample  are  the  means  of  transport,  and  so  low  the 
freight,  considering  the  risks,  that,  according  to  Mr. 
von  Rosthorn,  of  the  Chinese  Imperial  Maritime 
Customs,  foreign  cottons  are  sold  in  Sze  Chuan  at 


Geographical  and  Introductory  15 

a barely  appreciable  advance  on  their  price  at 
I chang,  to  which  point  they  are  brought  by  steam 
from  the  coast  in  eight  days. 

The  Chinese  Gazetteer  notifies  one  thousand 
rapids  and  rocks  between  Ichang  and  Chungking,  a 
distance  of  about  500  miles  ; and  in  winter  this 
does  not  seem  an  outlandish  estimate,  but  in  early 
summer  with  the  water  twenty-four  and  thirty  feet 
higher,  many  of  the  vigorous  rapids,  alternating 
with  smooth  stretches  of  river  only  running  three 
knots  an  hour,  disappear,  along  with  boulder- 
strewn  shores,  rocks,  and  islets,  giving  place  to  a 
broad  and  tremendous  volume  of  water,  swirling 
seawards  at  the  rate  of  seven,  eight,  and  ten  knots 
an  hour,  forming  many  and  dangerous  whirlpools. 

Of  the  magnitude  of  the  native  traffic  on  the 
Lower  Yangtze,  undiminished  by  the  various  steam- 
boat lines  which  keep  up  daily  communication  with 
Hankow,  it  is  scarcely  needful  to  write.  In  ascend- 
ing it  is  evident  to  the  traveller  by  the  time  that 
Chinkiang,  the  port  of  junction  with  the  Grand 
Canal,  is  reached,  that,  broad  as  the  river  is,  there 
is  none  too  much  “ sea  room”  for  the  thousands  of 
junks  of  every  build,  from  every  maritime  and  river- 
ine province,  fishing  and  cargo  boats  of  every  size 
and  rig,  rafts,  lorchas,  and  cormorant  boats,  which 
throng  its  waters. 


i6 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


The  open  ports  of  Wuhu  and  Kiu-kiang,  each 
with  its  fleets  of  junks,  and  trade  worth  several 
millions  sterling  annually,  and  big  cities  such  as 
Nanking,  Yangchow,  and  Nganking,  each  with  its 
highly  organised  mercantile  and  social  life,  and 
trade  guilds  and  charities,  are  important  and  inter- 
esting ; and  it  is  seen  in  a rapid  glance  that  large 
villages  with  numerous  industries,  rice,  cotton,  and 
silk  culture  predominating,  abound,  that  everything 
is  utilised,  that  every  foot  of  ground  capable  of  cul- 
tivation is  bearing  a crop,  and  that  even  the  reed- 
beds  of  the  irreclaimable  swamps  furnish  material 
for  houses,  roofs,  fences,  and  fuel.  It  is  seen  that 
elaborate  and  successful  engineering  works  have 
reclaimed  large  tracts  of  country  and  keep  them 
drained,  that  a network  of  irrigating  and  navigable 
canals  spreads  over  the  whole  level  region,  and  that 
the  traffic  on  these  minor  waterways  is  enormous. 

So  ceaseless  are  the  industries  by  land  and 
water,  that  it  is  hardly  a surprise  to  find  them  cul- 
minating 600  miles  from  the  ocean  in  the  “ million- 
peopled  ” city  of  Hankow  (Han  Mouth),  the 
greatest  distributing  centre  for  goods  in  China, 
with  miles  of  craft  moored  in  triple  rows  along  the 
Han,  itself  navigable  for  1200  miles. 

The  empire-province  of  Sze  Chuan,  with  the 
great  navigable  tributaries  of  the  Yangtze,  by 


Geographical  and  Introductory  17 

which  goods  are  conveyed  at  small  cost  to  count- 
less towns  and  villages,  will  be  treated  in  some  de- 
tail farther  on.  It  is  enough  to  remark  here  that 
it  has  about  the  area  of  France,  that  it  has  a popu- 
lation estimated  by  the  Chinese  census  authorities 
at  70,000,000,  and  by  none  at  less  than  50,000,000  ; 
that  it  has  a superb  climate,  ranging  from  the  tem- 
perate to  the  sub-tropical ; a rich  soil,  much  of 
which,  under  careful  cultivation,  yields  three  and 
even  four  crops  annually  of  most  things  which  can 
be  grown  ; forests  of  grand  timber,  the  area  of 
which  has  not  even  been  estimated  ; rich  mineral 
resources,  and  some  of  the  most  valuable  and  ex- 
tensive coal-fields  in  the  world.  It  cannot  be  re- 
peated too  often  that  for  its  export  trade,  estimated 
at  ,£3,300,000,  and  its  import  trade,  estimated  at 
,£2,400,000,  the  Yangtze  is  the  sole  outlet  and  inlet. 

Such  an  exhibition  of  Chinese  energy,  industry, 
resourcefulness,  and  power  of  battling  with  diffi- 
culties is  not  to  be  seen  anywhere  to  the  same  ex- 
tent as  on  the  Upper  Yangtze,  where  the  enormous 
bulk  of  the  vast  import  trade  has  to  be  dragged  up 
five  hundred  miles  of  hills  of  water  by  the  sheer 
force  of  man-power,  at  two  or  three  of  the  worst 
rapids  a junk  of  over  one  hundred  tons  requiring 
the  haulage  of  nearly  four  hundred  men. 

Waterways  take  the  place  of  roads,  which  are 


1 8 The  Yangtze  Valley 

usually  infamous,  throughout  the  Yangtze  Basin, 
but  the  bridges  are  marvels  of  solidity,  and,  in  many 
cases,  of  beauty.  The  annual  inundations  on  the 
Great  Plain  partly  account  for  the  badness  of  the 
roads,  and  constitute  an  expensive  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  the  forthcoming  railroads. 

To  write  of  the  Yangtze  Valley,  the  British 
“ sphere  of  influence  ” (a  phrase  against  which  I 
protest),  without  any  allusion  to  such  an  important 
factor  as  its  inhabitants,  would  be  a mistake,  for 
sooner  or  later,  in  various  ways,  we  shall  have  to 
reckon  with  them. 

The  population  throughout,  from  the  ocean  to 
the  unexplored  rifts  of  the  Chin  Sha,  is  homogene- 
ous, that  is  Chinese,  with  the  exception  of  certain 
tribes  of  the  Far  West : the  Sifan,  Mantze,  and 
Lolo.  The  Tartars  or  Manchu,  who  have  supplied 
the  throne  with  the  present  dynasty,  whose  fathers 
drove  the  Chinese  before  them  like  sheep,  and  who 
still  garrison  the  great  cities,  have  mainly  degener- 
ated into  opium-smoking  loafers,  the  agent  in  their 
downfall  being  hereditary  pensions. 

Throughout  this  vast  population,  perhaps  not 
over-estimated  at  180,000,000,  with  the  exception 
of  spasmodic  and  local  rebellions  now  and  then, 
law  and  order,  prosperity  (except  in  such  disasters 
as  floods  or  famines)  and  peace  prevail,  and  that 


i9 


Geographical  and  Introductory 

security  for  the  gains  of  labour  exists  without  which 
no  country  is  great.  The  system  of  government, 
the  written  language,  and  the  education  are  uni- 
form, and  the  “ three  religions  ” — Confucianism, 
Buddhism,  and  Taoism — are  so  mixed  up  together 
that  there  is  little  antagonism  between  them. 

The  organisation  of  this  valley  population,  social 
and  mercantile,  is  a marvel,  with  its  system  of  trade, 
trade  guilds,  trade  unions,  charities,  banking  and 
postal  systems,  and  powerful  trade  combinations. 

In  much  talk  about  “open  doors”  and  “spheres 
of  influence”  and  “interest,”  in  much  greed  for 
ourselves,  not  always  dexterously  cloaked,  and 
much  jealousy  and  suspicion  of  our  neighbours,  and 
in  much  interest  in  the  undignified  scramble  for 
concessions  in  which  we  have  been  taking  our  share 
at  Peking,  there  is  a risk  of  our  coming  to  think 
only  of  markets,  territory,  and  railroads,  and  of 
ignoring  the  men  who,  for  two  thousand  years, 
have  been  making  China  worth  scrambling  for.  It 
may  be  that  we  go  forward  with  “ a light  heart,” 
along  with  other  European  empires,  not  hesitating, 
for  the  sake  of  commercial  advantages,  to  break  up 
in  the  case  of  a fourth  of  the  human  race  the  most 
ancient  of  earth’s  existing  civilisations,  without 
giving  any  equivalent. 

In  estimating  the  position  occupied  by  the  in- 


20 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

habitants  of  the  Yangtze  Valley,  as  of  the  rest  of 
China,  it  is  essential  for  us  to  see  quite  clearly  that 
our  Western  ideas  find  themselves  confronted,  not 
with  barbarism  or  with  debased  theories  of  morals, 
but  with  an  elaborate  and  antique  civilisation  which 
yet  is  not  decayed,  and  which,  though  imperfect, 
has  many  claims  to  our  respect  and  even  admira- 
tion. They  meet  with  a perfectly  organised  social 
order,  a system  of  government  theoretically  admir- 
ably suited  to  the  country,  combining  the  extremes 
of  centralisation  and  decentralisation,  and  under 
which,  in  spite  of  its  tremendous  infamies  of  practice, 
the  governed  enjoy  a large  measure  of  peace  and 
prosperity,  a noteworthy  amount  of  individual 
liberty  and  security  for  the  gains  of  labour,  and 
under  which  it  is  as  possible  for  a peasant’s  son  to 
rise  to  high  position  as  in  the  American  Republic.1 

1 Lest  it  should  be  supposed  that  I am  taking  an  unduly  favourable  view 
of  the  position  of  the  Chinese,  and  especially  of  the  Chinese  of  Sze  Chuan, 
under  their  government,  I fortify  my  opinion  by  quoting  that  of  Mr.  Litton, 
British  acting  consul  at  Chungking.  He  writes  in  his  official  report  to  our 
Foreign  Office,  presented  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament  in  May,  1899,  thus: 
— ‘ ‘ The  government,  though  obstructive  and  unintelligent,  is  not  as  a rule 
actively  oppressive  ; one  may  travel  for  days  in  West  China  without  seeing 
any  signs  of  that  reserve  of  force  which  we  associate  with  the  policeman 
round  the  corner.  The  country  people  of  Sze  Chuan  manage  their  own 
affairs  through  their  headmen,  and  get  on  very  well  in  spite  of,  rather  than 
because  of  the  central  government  at  Chengtu.  So  long  as  a native  keeps 
out  of  the  law  courts,  and  does  not  attempt  any  startling  innovations  on  the 
customs  of  his  ancestors,  he  finds  in  the  general  love  of  law  and  order  very 
fair  security  that  he  will  enjoy  the  fruit  of  his  labour.”  This  general  dis- 
position towards  law  and  order,  though  it  may  have  something  to  do  with 
race,  is  undoubtedly  on  the  whole  the  result  of  the  teachings  of  Confucius. 


Geographical  and  Introductory  21 

Western  civilisation  finds  itself  confronted  also 
by  a people  at  once  grossly  material  and  grossly 
superstitious,  swayed  at  once  by  the  hazy  specu- 
lations and  unintelligible  metaphysic  which  in 
Chinese  Buddhism  have  allied  themselves  with  the 
most  extravagant  and  childish  superstitions,  and  by 
the  daemonism  of  Taoism,  while  over  both  tower  the 
lofty  ethics  and  profound  agnosticism  of  Confucius. 
It  finds  a classical  literature  universally  held  in 
profound  reverence,  in  which,  according  to  all  testi- 
mony, there  is  not  a thought  which  could  sully  the 
purest  mind,  and  an  idolatry  puerile,  superstitious, 
and  free  from  grand  conceptions,  but  in  which 
bloody  sacrifices  and  the  deification  of  vice  have 
never  had  a part,  or  immoral  rites  a place. 

The  human  product  of  Chinese  civilisation,  re- 
ligion, and  government  is  to  me  the  greatest  of  all 
enigmas,  and  so  he  remains  to  those  who  know  him 
best.  At  once  conservative  and  adaptable,  the 
most  local  of  peasants  in  his  attachments,  and  the 
most  cosmopolitan  and  successful  of  emigrants — 
sober,  industrious,  thrifty,  orderly,  peaceable,  indif- 
ferent to  personal  comfort,  possessing  great  physical 
vitality,  cheerful,  contented,  persevering — his  filial 
piety,  tenacity,  resourcefulness,  power  of  combina- 
tion, and  respect  for  law  and  literature,  place  him 
in  the  van  of  Asiatic  nations. 


22 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

The  Chinese  constitute  an  order  by  themselves, 
and  their  individuality  cannot  be  read  in  the  light 
of  that  of  any  other  nation.  The  aspirations  and 
modes  of  thinking  by  which  we  are  ruled  do  not 
direct  their  aims.  They  are  keen  and  alert,  but 
unwilling  to  strike  out  new  lines,  and  slow  to  be 
influenced  in  any  matters.  Their  trading  instincts 
are  phenomenal.  They  are  born  bargainers,  and 
would  hardly  think  half  an  hour  wasted  if  through 
chaffering  they  gained  an  advantage  of  half  a cash , 
a coin  forty  of  which  are  about  one  penny.  They 
are  suspicious,  cunning,  and  corrupt  ; but  it  is  need- 
less to  run  through  the  established  formula  of  their 
vices.  Among  the  things  which  they  lack  are 
conscience,  and  such  an  enlightened  public  opinion 
as  shall  sustain  right  and  condemn  wrong. 

Matthew  Arnold  has  said  that  Greece  perished 
for  want  of  attention  to  conduct,  and  that  the  reve- 
lation which  rules  the  world  is  the  “ pre-eminence  of 
righteousness.”  It  may  be  that  the  western  powers 
are  not  giving  the  Middle  Kingdom  a very  desirable 
object-lesson. 

On  the  whole,  as  I hope  to  show  to  some  extent 
in  the  following  pages,  throughout  the  Yangtze 
Valley,  from  the  great  cities  of  Hangchow  and 
Hankow  to  the  trading  cities  of  Sze  Chuan,  the 
traveller  receives  very  definite  impressions  of  the 


23 


Geographical  and  Introductory 

completeness  of  Chinese  social  and  commercial  or- 
ganisation, the  skill  and  carefulness  of  cultivation, 
the  clever  adaptation  of  means  to  ends — the  exist- 
ence of  provincial  patriotism,  or,  perhaps,  more 
truly,  of  local  public  spirit,  of  the  general  prosper- 
ity, and  of  the  backbone,  power  of  combination, 
resourcefulness,  and  independence  possessed  by  the 
race.  It  is  not  an  effete  or  decaying  people  which 
we  shall  have  to  meet  in  serious  competition  when 
it  shall  have  learned  our  sciences  and  some  of  our 
methods  of  manufacturing  industry.  Indeed,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  chemistry,  for  instance,  might 
be  eagerly  adapted  by  so  ingenious  a race  to  the 
perpetration  of  new  and  hitherto  unthought-of 
frauds  ! But  if  the  extraordinary  energy,  adapta- 
bility, and  industry  of  the  Chinese  may  be  regarded 
from  one  point  of  view  as  the  “Yellow  Peril,” 
surely  looked  at  from  another  they  constitute  the 
Yellow  Hope,  and  it  may  be  possible  that  an  em- 
pire genuinely  Christianised,  but  not  denationalised 
may  yet  be  the  dominant  power  in  Eastern  Asia. 

The  Chinese  are  ignorant  and  superstitious  be- 
yond belief,  but  on  the  whole,  with  all  their  faults,  I 
doubt  whether  any  other  Oriental  race  runs  so 
straight. 

The  Yangtze  Basin  is  a magnificent  sphere  of 
interest  for  all  the  industrial  nations  for  fair,  if  not 


24 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

friendly,  rivalry,  and  to  preserve  the  “ open  door” 
there,  and  throughout  China,  is  a worthy  object  of 
ambition.  To  strengthen  instead  of  to  weaken  the 
Central  Government  is  undoubtedly  the  wisest 
policy  to  pursue,  for  in  the  weakness  of  the  Peking 
Government  lies  the  weakness  and  possible  abro- 
gation of  all  treaty  obligations.  It  is  its  strength 
and  capacity  to  fulfil  its  treaties  which  alone  make 
them  worth  anything.  In  the  weakening  of  the 
Central  Government,  and  the  disintegration  of  the 
empire,  our  treaty  rights  in  the  Yangtze  Valley, 
for  instance,  would  be  worth  as  much  as  our  sword 
could  secure,  and  it  cannot  reach  above  Ichang, 
while  if  the  integrity  of  the  empire  be  preserved, 
and  it  is  aided  along  judicious  paths  of  reform,  this 
vast  basin,  with  its  singular  capabilities,  and  its 
population  of  180,000,000,  may  become  the  widest 
arena  for  commercial  rivalries  that  the  world  has 


ever  seen. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  MODEL  SETTLEMENT” 


HOSE  of  my  readers  who  have  followed  me 


1 through  all  or  any  of  my  eleven  volumes  of 
travels  must  be  aware  that  my  chief  wish  on  arriv- 
ing at  a foreign  settlement  or  treaty  port  in  the 
East  is  to  get  out  of  it  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
that  I have  not  the  remotest  hankering  after  Anglo- 
Asiatic  attractions.  Nor  is  Shanghai,  “ The  Model 
Settlement  of  the  East,”  an  exception  to  the 
general  rule,  though  I gratefully  acknowledge  the 
kindness  and  hospitality  which  I met  with  there,  as 
everywhere,  and  recall  with  pleasure  my  many  so- 
journs at  the  British  Consulate  as  the  guest  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lowndes  Bullock. 

But  as  the  outlet  of  the  commerce  of  the  Yangtze 
Valley,  and  as  a foreign  city  which  has  risen  on 
Chinese  shores  in  little  more  than  half  a century  to 
the  position  and  importance  of  one  of  the  great 
trading  centres  of  the  world — its  exports  and  im- 
ports for  1898  being  of  the  value  of  ^37, 680,875 


25 


26 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

sterling1 — it  claims  such  notice  as  I can  give  it, 
which  is  chiefly  in  the  shape  of  impressions. 

I have  reached  Shanghai  four  times  by  Japan- 
ese steamers,  three  times  in  coasting  steamers  of 
American  build,  once  in  one  of  the  superb  vessels 
of  the  Canadian  Empress  line,  once  from  Hankow 
in  a metamorphosed  Dutch  gunboat,  and  the  last 
time,  after  nearly  three  and  a half  years  of  Far  East- 
ern travel,  in  a small  Korean  Government  steamer, 
her  quaint,  mysterious,  and  nearly  unknown  na- 
tional flag  exciting  much  speculation  and  interest 
as  she  steamed  slowly  up  the  river.  Of  these  ves- 
sels, the  Empress  of  China  alone  discharged  her 
passengers  and  cargo  at  Woo-sung,  a railroad 
terminus  twelve  miles  below  Shanghai,  and  that 
not  necessarily. 

Many  hours  before  reaching  port,  the  deep 
heavenly  blue  of  the  Pacific  gradually  changes  into 
a turbid  yellowish  flood,  well  named  the  Yellow 
Sea,  holding  in  suspension  the  rich  wash  of  scarcely 
explored  Central  Asian  mountain  ranges,  the  red 
loam  of  the  “ Red  Basin  ” of  Sze  Chuan,  and  the 
grey  and  yellow  alluvium  of  the  Central  Provinces 
of  China,  all  carried  to  the  ocean  by  the  “ Great 
River,”  according  to  a careful  scientific  estimate,  to 


1 For  Shanghai  and  the  other  open  ports,  it  is  the  gross  value  of  trade, 
exports  and  imports,  including  re-exports,  which  is  given  in  this  volume. 


“The  Model  Settlement” 


27 


the  extent  of  6,428,858,255  cubic  feet  a year,  solid 
stuff  enough  to  build  an  island  ninety  feet  in  depth 
and  a mile  square  annually. 

Countless  fishing-boats  roll  on  the  muddy  waste ; 
sailing  vessels,  steamers,  and  brown-sailed  junks  of 
every  build  show  signs  of  convergence  towards 
something,  and  before  long  a blink  of  land  is  visi- 
ble, and  a lightship  indicates  the  mouth  of  the 
Yangtze  Kiang  and  a navigable  channel.  It  is 
long  even  then  before  anything  definite  presents 
itself,  and  I confess  to  being  disappointed  with  the 
first  features  of  the  Asiatic  mainland — two  long, 
thin,  yellow  lines,  hardly  more  solid-looking  than 
the  yellow  water  stretching  along  the  horizon,  grow- 
ing gradually  into  low  marshy  banks,  somewhat 
later  topped  with  uninteresting  foliage,  through 
which  there  are  glimpses  of  what  looks  like  an  in- 
terminable swamp.  Then  Woo-sung  appears  with 
its  new  railroad,  godowns,  whitewashed  buildings, 
and  big  ships  at  anchor  discharging  cargo  into 
lighters  and  native  boats,  and  then  the  banks  of 
the  narrowing  Huang-pu,  the  river  of  Shanghai, 
are  indicated  by  habitations  and  small  fields  and 
signs  of  small  industries. 

Within  four  miles  of  Shanghai  the  vivacity  of 
the  Huang-pu  and  its  banks  becomes  overpower- 
ing, and  the  West  asserts  its  ascendency  over  the 


28 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


slow-moving  East.  There  are  ranges  of  great 
godowns,  wharves,  building-yards,  graving-docks, 
“ works  ” of  all  descriptions,  filatures,  cotton  mills, 
and  all  the  symptoms  in  smoky  chimneys  and  a 
ceaseless  clang  of  the  presence  of  capital  and  en- 
ergy. After  the  war  with  Japan  there  was  a rapid 
increase  in  the  number  of  factories. 

The  life  and  movement  on  the  river  become 
wonderful.  The  channel  for  large  vessels,  though 
narrow,  shifting,  and  intricate,  and  the  subject  of 
years  of  doleful  prophecies  as  to  “ silting  up  ” and 
leaving  Shanghai  stranded,  admits  of  the  passage 
of  our  largest  merchantmen,  and  successful  dredg- 
ing enables  them  to  lie  alongside  the  fine  wharves 
at  Hongkew.  American  three  and  four-masted 
and  other  sailing  vessels  are  at  anchor  in  mid- 
stream, or  are  proceeding  up  or  down  in  charge  of 
tugs.  Monster  liners  under  their  own  steam  at 
times  nearly  fill  up  the  channel,  their  officers  yelling 
frantically  at  the  small  craft  which  recklessly  cross 
their  bows  ; great  white,  two-storeyed  paddle  arks 
from  Ningpo  and  Hankow,  local  steamers,  steam 
launches  owned  by  the  great  firms,  junks  of  all 
builds  and  sizes,  manageable  by  their  huge  rudders, 
sampans , hooded  boats,  and  native  boats  of  all  de- 
scriptions, lighters,  and  a shoal  of  nondescript  craft 
make  navigation  tedious,  if  not  perilous,  while 


“The  Model  Settlement” 


29 


sirens  and  steam  whistles  sound  continually.  “ The 
plot  thickens.”  Foreign  hongs , warehouses,  ship- 
ping offices,  and  hotels  are  passed  in  Hongkew,  the 
American  settlement,  and  gliding  round  Pu-tung 
Point,  the  steamer  anchors  abreast  of  the  bund  in  a 
wholesomely  rapid  flow  of  water  2000  feet  wide. 

I arrived  in  Shanghai  the  first  time  on  a clear, 
bright  autumn  day.  The  sky  was  very  blue,  and 
the  masses  of  exotic  trees,  the  green,  shaven  lawns, 
the  belated  roses,  and  the  clumps  of  chrysan- 
themums in  the  fine  public  gardens  gave  a great 
charm  to  the  first  view  of  the  settlement.  Two 
big,  lofty,  white  hulks  for  bonded  Indian  opium 
are  moored  permanently  in  front  of  the  gardens. 
Gunboats  and  larger  war-vessels  of  all  nations,  all 
painted  white,  and  the  fine  steamers  of  the  Messa- 
geries  Maritimes  have  their  moorings  a little  higher 
up.  Boats,  with  crews  in  familiar  uniforms,  and 
covered  native  boats  gaily  painted,  the  latter  dart- 
ing about  like  dragon-flies,  were  plying  ceaselessly, 
and  as  it  was  the  turn  of  the  tide,  hundreds  of  junks 
were  passing  seaward  under  their  big  brown  sails. 

On  landing  at  the  fine  landing-stage,  where  kind 
friends  received  me  and  took  me  to  the  British 
Consul’s  residence  in  the  spacious  grounds  of  the 
Consulate,  I was  at  once  impressed  with  the  ex- 
quisite dress  of  the  ladies,  who  were  at  least  a half 


3° 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

of  the  throng,  and  with  the  look  of  wealth  and 
comfort  which  prevails. 

All  along  the  British  Bund,  for  at  least  a mile 
from  the  Soochow  Creek,  which  separates  it  from 
Hongkew,  to  the  French  settlement,  are  banks, 
hongs , hotels,  and  private  houses  of  the  most 
approved  and  massive  Anglo-Oriental  architecture, 
standing  in  large,  shady  gardens,  the  Hong  Kong 
and  Shanghai  Bank,  the  “ P.  & O.”  office,  the 
Canadian-Pacific  Railroad  office,  the  fine  counting- 
house  and  dwelling-house  of  the  old  and  famous 
firm  of  Jardine,  Matheson  & Co.,  and  the  long 
fa£ade  of  the  British  consular  buildings,  with  their 
wide  sweep  of  lawns,  being  prominent. 

The  broad  carriage-road  and  fine  flagged  side- 
walk are  truly  cosmopolitan.  Well-dressed  men 
and  women  of  all  civilised  nations,  and  of  some 
which  are  not  civilised,  promenade  gaily  on  the 
walk  and  in  the  garden.  Single  and  two-horse 
carriages  and  buggies,  open  and  closed,  with  coach- 
men and  grooms  in  gay  and  often  fantastic  cotton 
liveries,  dash  along  the  drive.  Hackney  victorias 
abound,  and  there  are  jinrickshas  (from  which 
foreigners  drop  the  first  syllable)  in  hundreds,  with 
Chinese  runners,  and  Shanghai  wheelbarrows  innu- 
merable, some  loaded  with  goods  or  luggage,  while 
the  coolies  of  others  are  trundling  along  from  two 


“ The  Model  Settlement  ” 


31 

to  four  Chinese  men  or  women  of  the  lower  classes, 
seated  on  matted  platforms  on  either  side  of  the 
wheel,  facing  forwards. 

I was  not  prepared  for  the  Chinese  element  being 
so  much  en  dvidence  in  the  foreign  settlement.  It 
is  not  only  that  clerks  and  compradores  dressed  in 
rich  silks  on  which  the  characters  for  happiness  and 
longevity  and  the  symbols  of  luck  are  brocaded  are 
in  numbers  on  the  bund,  and  that  all  the  servile 
classes,  as  may  be  expected,  are  Chinese,  but  that 
Chinese  shops  of  high  standing,  such  as  Laou  Kai 
Fook’s,  are  taking  their  places  in  fine  streets  which 
run  back  from  the  bund,  that  some  of  the  hand- 
somest carriages  on  the  bund  and  the  Bubbling 
Well  Road,  the  fashionable  afternoon  drive  of 
Shanghai,  are  owned  and  filled  with  Chinese,  that 
Chinese  ladies  and  children  richly  dressed  drive  in 
the  same  fashion,  and  that  of  late,  especially, 
wealthy  Chinese  have  become  keen  competitors  for 
British  houses,  and  have  even  outbid  foreigners  for 
them.  Is  Shanghai  menaced  by  the  “Yellow  Peril  ” 
as  Malacca,  Singapore,  and  Penang  have  been  ? 

A great  trading  Chinese  city,  with  an  estimated 
population  of  200,000,  has  grown  up  within  the 
foreign  boundary,  subject  to  foreign  municipal  laws 
and  sanitary  regulations,  but  so  absolutely  Chinese, 
that  were  it  not  for  the  wide  streets  and  the  absence 


32  The  Yangtze  Valley 

of  refuse-heaps  and  bad  smells,  one  might  think 
oneself  in  one  of  the  great  cities  of  the  interior. 
The  Chinese  are  quite  capable  of  appreciating  the 
comfort  and  equity  of  foreign  rule,  and  the  various 
advantages  which  they  enjoy  under  it.  They  pay 
municipal  taxes  according  to  their  rating,  and  “feu 
duty  ” for  their  land,  which  it  is  usual  for  them  to 
hold  in  the  name  of  a foreigner.  They  are  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Chinese  Government,  but 
civil  cases  in  which  foreigners  are  concerned  and 
breaches  of  the  peace  are  tried  in  what  is  known  as 
the  “ Mixed  Court,”  an  apparently  satisfactory  and 
workable  arrangement,  and  serious  criminal  cases 
belong  to  the  Chinese  Shanghai  magistrate. 

I soon  began  to  learn  why  Shanghai  is  called,  or 
calls  itself,  “ The  Model  Settlement,”  and  to  recog- 
nise the  fitness  of  the  name.  The  British  and 
American  settlements  are  governed  by  a Munici- 
pality elected  by  the  ratepayers,  consisting  of  nine 
gentlemen,  who,  assisted  by  a secretary  and  general 
staff,  expend  the  sums  provided  by  the  ratepayers 
to  the  general  satisfaction,  arranging  admirably  for 
the  health,  security,  comfort,  and  even  enjoyment 
of  the  large  foreign  community,  as  well  as  for  the 
order  and  well-being  of  the  constantly  increasing 
Chinese  population,  showing  to  the  whole  East 
what  can  be  accomplished  by  an  honest  and 


“The  Model  Settlement” 


33 

thoroughly  efficient  British  local  administration. 
This  body  is,  as  it  deserves  to  be,  grandly  housed. 

The  more  important  streets  are  lighted  with 
electricity,  the  others  with  gas.  Mounted  Sikh 
police  patrol  the  suburban  roads,  and  a mixed  force 
of  Europeans,  Sikhs,  and  Chinese  preserves  order 
and  security  in  the  settlement  by  day  and  night. 
An  expensive,  but  successful  drainage  system  keeps 
Shanghai  sweet  and  wholesome.  Water-carts  are 
always  at  work  in  dry  weather,  and  scavengers’ 
carts  cleanse  the  streets  three  times  daily.  Water- 
works three  miles  from  city  pollutions  supply  pure 
water  abundantly,  and  keep  up  a very  high  pressure 
unfailingly.  The  band  of  thirty  performers,  which 
plays  in  the  public  gardens  every  afternoon  in 
winter,  and  three  evenings  a week  in  summer,  at- 
tracting nearly  the  whole  foreign  community  to 
lounge  under  the  trees  or  stroll  on  the  smooth 
gravel  walks,  is  the  creature  of  the  Municipality. 

Shanghai  has  two  telegraph  lines  embracing 
London  ; daily  papers  well  conducted,  the  North 
China  Daily  News  especially  maintaining  a deserv- 
edly high  reputation  ; several  magazines,  and  com- 
munication with  Europe  always  once  a week,  and 
usually  oftener,  by  well-appointed  mail  steamers  of 
four  lines.  Telegraphic  news  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  appears  simultaneously  in  London  and 

VOL.  I. — 3. 


34 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Shanghai ; it  is  thoroughly  in  touch  with  Europe 
and  America,  and  European  politics  and  events  in 
general  are  discussed  with  as  much  intelligence  and 
almost  as  much  zest  as  at  home.  Excellent  libraries, 
and  the  large  book-store  of  Messrs.  Kelly  & Walsh, 
cater  for  the  intellectual  needs  of  the  population,  but 
it  is  likely  that  the  depressing  climate  in  spring  and 
summer, and  the  whirl  of  society  and  amusements  in 
winter,  indispose  most  of  the  residents  for  any- 
thing like  stiff  reading. 

The  tremendous  energy  with  which  Shanghai 
amuses  itself  during  seven  months  of  the  year  is 
something  phenomenal.  It  is  even  a fatigue  to 
contemplate  it.  Various  causes  contribute  to  it  on 
the  part  of  the  ladies.  There  is  the  Anglo-Saxon 
vitality  which  must  find  some  outlet.  Then  there 
is  the  absence  of  household  cares  owing  to  the  effi- 
ciency of  Chinese  cooks  and  “boys,”  and  ofttimes 
the  absence  of  children  also,  owing  to  the  need  for 
home  education  ; and  there  is  also  the  lack  of  those 
benevolent  outgoings  among  “the  poor”  which 
occupy  usefully  a portion  of  the  time  of  leisured 
women  at  home.  Then,  owing  to  the  imitative 
skill  of  Chinese  tailors,  who  can  construct  the  most 
elaborate  gowns  from  fashion-plates  for  a few  shil- 
lings, it  is  possible  for  women  to  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  appearing  in  an  infinite  variety  of  elegant 


“The  Model  Settlement’ 


35 


toilettes  at  a very  small  expense,  and  dress  is  cer- 
tainly elevated  into  a fine  art  in  Shanghai. 

Of  the  men  I write  tremblingly  ! Chinese  tailors 
seem  as  successful  as  Chinese  dressmakers,  and  the 
laundrymen  equal  both,  no  small  matter  when  white 
linen  suits  are  in  question.  May  it  be  permitted  to 
a traveller  to  remark  that  if  men  were  to  give  to  the 
learning  of  Chinese  and  of  Chinese  requirements 
and  methods  of  business  a little  of  the  time  which 
is  lavished  on  sport  and  other  amusements,  there 
might  possibly  be  less  occasion  for  the  complaint 
that  large  fortunes  are  no  longer  to  be  made  in 
Chinese  business. 

For  indeed,  from  ignorance  of  the  language  and 
reliance  on  that  limited  and  abominable  vocabulary 
known  as  “ Pidgin,”  the  British  merchant  must  be 
more  absolutely  dependent  on  his  Chinese  compra- 
dore  than  he  would  care  to  be  at  home  on  his  con- 
fidential clerk.  Even  in  such  lordly  institutions  as 
the  British  banks  on  the  bund  it  seems  impossible 
to  transact  even  such  a simple  affair  as  cashing  a 
cheque  without  calling  in  the  aid  of  a sleek,  super- 
cilious-looking, richly  dressed  Chinese,  a shroff  or 
comprador e,  who  looks  as  if  he  knew  the  business 
of  the  bank  and  were  capable  of  running  it.  It  is 
different  at  the  Yokohama  Specie  Bank,  which  has 
found  a footing  in  Shanghai,  in  which  the  alert 


36 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Japanese  clerks  manage  their  own  affairs  and  speak 
Chinese.  May  I be  forgiven  ? 

An  extraordinary  variety  of  amusements  is 
crowded  into  every  day.  Then  the  community  is 
most  hospitable,  as  every  visitor  to  Shanghai  knows, 
and  the  arrival  of  every  ship  of  war  and  eminent 
globe-trotter  is  the  signal  for  a fresh  outbreak 
of  gaiety.  Home  diversions  are  reproduced,  and 
others  are  superadded,  such  as  paper  hunts  in  the 
adjacent  cotton-fields,  house-boat  picnics  and  pleas- 
ure excursions,  and  house-boat  shooting  excursions, 
lasting  from  three  days  to  a week,  for  which  special 
advantages  exist,  as  the  inland  cotton-fields  during 
the  winter  are  alive  with  pheasants,  partridges, 
quail,  woodcock,  and  hares,  while  the  water-courses 
abound  with  wild  fowl.  Pony  races  are  a leading 
institution,  with  gentlemen  riders,  of  course.  The 
morning  gallops  extract  people  from  their  beds  at 
unwonted  hours,  and  in  spring  and  autumn  the 
prospects  of  the  stables  make  great  inroads  on 
conversation.  But  I will  not  go  further.  The 
very  imperfect  list  given  below  gives  some  idea  of 
the  diversions  which  the  community  provides  for 
itself.1  Amateur  theatricals  are  “ the  rage  ” in  the 

’ Yachting  Club,  Golf  Club,  Athletic  Club,  Lawn  Tennis  Club,  Polo  Club, 
Volunteer  Club,  Boating  Club,  Bowling  Club,  Swimming  Club,  Cricket 
Club,  Blackbird  Club,  Drag  Hound  Club,  Steeplechase  Club,  Racquet  Club, 
Racing  Club,  Rifle  Club,  Fives  Court,  Gymnasium,  Fire  Flies  Society, 


“ The  Model  Settlement  ’ 


37 


winter,  the  amateur  company  providing  several 
performances  in  a theatre  built  by  a subscription  of 
^5000,  and  holding  over  eight  hundred  persons, 
and  the  Fine  Art  Society  gives  an  annual  exhibition. 

The  continual  presence  of  strangers  imparts  a 
needed  element  of  freshness  to  society,  and  a zest 
to  amusements  which  might  pall,  and  gives  people 
an  excuse,  if  any  were  needed,  for  enjoying  them- 
selves. Shanghai  has  become  the  metropolis  of 
gaiety  for  the  Far  East,  and  a week  at  the  Astor 
House,  the  great  recreation  looked  forward  to  not 
only  by  the  dwellers  in  the  treaty  ports  of  China 
and  Japan,  but  by  those  who  roast  and  dissolve  on 
the  rock  at  Hongkong,  and  its  delirious  whirl 
attracts  people  even  from  Singapore. 

But  it  would  be  quite  an  error  to  suppose  that 
amusement  crowds  out  the  kindlier  emotions. 
Europeans  fall  into  distress  constantly,  some  from 
misfortune,  and  some  from  fault,  and  many  widows 
and  orphans  are  left  penniless.  One  may  safely 
say  that  there  is  never  a case  of  distress  arising 
from  any  cause  which  is  not  immediately  and  amply 
relieved  and  planned  for ; and  benevolence  never 
wearies,  the  Ladies’  Benevolent  Society  doing  a 
ceaseless  good  work.  There  is  a Sailors’  Home 

Lurderfatel  Society,  Amateur  Dramatic  Company  ; and  of  a graver  cast,  the 
Philharmonic  and  Photographic  Societies,  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  the 
Fine  Art  Society,  etc.,  etc.  (List  by  W.  S.  Percival,  Esq.) 


38 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  Rest  in  a very  efficient  and  flourishing  con- 
dition, with  musical  evenings  frequently,  at  which 
ladies  and  gentlemen  play  and  sing ; and,  without 
going  further  into  detail,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
various  useful  organisations  which  our  civilisation 
considers  essential  for  a large  community,  from  a 
fine  general  hospital  downwards,  have  their  place 
in  Shanghai. 

Church  accommodation  is  ample  for  the  church- 
goers. The  Protestant  cathedral,  a really  beautiful 
edifice,  built  from  the  designs  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott, 
is  one  of  the  greatest  adornments  of  the  settle- 
ment, and  is  the  finest  ecclesiastical  building  in  the 
Far  East. 

From  the  early  days  of  Shanghai  many  Protestant 
missions,  both  European  and  American,  have  had 
mission  houses  in  the  settlement,  the  most  import- 
ant being  the  large,  appropriate,  and  substantial 
headquarters  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  the  gift 
of  Mr.  Orr  Ewing,  with  a home  for  a hundred 
missionaries,  a hospital,  goods  and  business  de- 
partments, and  postal  arrangements.  Dr.  Muir- 
head,  of  the  L.M.S.,  whose  missionary  zeal  is  un- 
chilled in  the  winter  of  his  age,  and  Dr.  Edkins,  of 
the  same  Society,  whose  Chinese  scholarship  and 
researches  among  things  Chinese  have  won  him  a 
European  fame,  are  well  known  to,  and  are  much 


“The  Model  Settlement” 


39 


respected  by,  the  foreign  community.  There  is  also 
a large  Roman  mission.  British  and  American  Bible 
Societies,  and  the  English  Religious  Tract  Society 
and  others  also  have  agents  and  depots  there,  and 
much  translation  is  done  by  missionaries,  and  by 
agencies  which  have  for  their  noble  object  the  dif- 
fusion of  pure  and  useful  Western  literature  among 
the  Chinese,  and  their  elevation  mentally  and 
morally. 

There  is  a North  China  branch  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society  in  Shanghai,  with  a fine  library, 
regular  meetings,  and  a journal,  which  gathers  up 
a great  deal  of  very  valuable  matter.  If  the  size 
and  material  of  the  audience  on  the  night  when  I 
had  the  honour  of  reading  a paper  before  the 
Society  may  be  regarded  as  an  indication  of  the 
interest  in  its  objects,  it  must  be  flourishing 
indeed. 

The  topography  of  this  metropolis  is  fully  dealt 
with  in  various  official  and  other  volumes.  The 
salient  points  which  impress  a newcomer  are  Hong- 
kew,  the  American  settlement,  with  its  commercial 
activity,  the  Soochow  Creek,  with  its  fine  bridge, 
the  handsome  buildings  of  the  British  Consulate, 
the  British  Bund,  with  its  fine  retaining  wall,  the 
long  line  of  handsome  private  and  public  buildings, 
and  the  glimpses  of  broad  and  handsome  streets 


40 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

full  of  private  residences  which  run  from  the  bund 
towards  the  boundary. 

The  French  Bund  is  a continuation  of  the  Brit- 
ish ; but  the  French  settlement  is  small,  markedly 
inferior,  and  gives  one  an  impression  of  arrested 
development,  the  only  noteworthy  buildings  being 
the  Consulate,  the  Town  Hall,  and  the  large  but 
plain  Roman  cathedral.  As  some  compensation, 
the  fine  wharves  at  which  the  big  Yangtze  steam- 
ers load  and  discharge  their  cargoes  are  in  this  set- 
tlement, as  well  as  the  handsome  and  commodious 
premises  of  the  Messageries  Maritimes,  beyond 
which  stretch,  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  the  crowded 
tiers  of  the  Chinese  shipping.  The  French  bound- 
ary is  an  undesirable  creek,  running  past  the  east 
gate  of  the  native  city,  between  wdrich  and  the 
Huang-pu  are  crowded  and  unsavoury  suburbs. 

It  is  apparent  that  France  regards  her  conces- 
sion as  a colony  rather  than  a settlement,  and  she 
has  lately  urged  her  claims  for  an  extension  of  it  in 
a most  selfish  and  indefensible  manner.  The  set- 
tlement has  been  frequently  in  very  hot  water,  and 
a serious  disagreement  with  the  Chinese  occurred 
so  recently  as  1898.  Its  Municipal  Board  was  once 
forcibly  dissolved  by  the  French  Consul  for  a dif- 
ference of  opinion,  and  some  of  its  members  were 
imprisoned. 


“The  Model  Settlement” 


4i 


The  English  settlement  makes  a proud  display 
of  the  wealth  of  the  insular  kingdom  in  the 
number  of  its  stately  buildings,  the  Consulate,  the 
cathedral,  the  municipal  buildings,  the  four-storeyed 
and  elaborately-designed  club  house,  the  banks  and 
shipping  offices,  and  the  massive  mansions  of  his- 
toric firms,  standing  in  their  secluded  grounds ; 
though  of  the  magnates  of  Eastern  commerce  in 
the  days  of  the  rapid  making  of  great  fortunes  al- 
most none  remain.  British,  too,  in  design,  archi- 
tecture, and  arrangement,  in  all  indeed  but  cost,  is 
the  magnificent  pile  of  buildings  in  which,  the  Im- 
perial Maritime  Customs  and  the  new  post-office, 
under  the  same  management,  are  housed. 

Shanghai  in  every  way  makes  good  her  claim  to 
be  metropolitan  as  well  as  cosmopolitan,  and,  in 
spite  of  dark  shadows,  is  a splendid  example  of 
what  British  energy,  wealth,  and  organising  power 
can  accomplish. 

To  us  the  name  Shanghai 1 means  alone  the 
superb  foreign  settlement,  with  all  the  accessories 
of  Western  luxury  and  civilisation,  lying  grandly  for 

1 Situated  a few  miles  from  the  junction  of  the  Huang-pu  with  the 
Yangtze,  in  lat.  310  10' N.  and  long.  i2i°3o'  E.,  nearly  on  the  same  parallel 
as  Charleston  and  Alexandria,  the  port  is  the  great  outlet  of  the  commerce 
of  the  rich  and  populous  provinces  of  Central  China,  and  the  sole  outlet  of 
that  of  Sze  Chuan,  besides  communicating  by  waterways  with  Hangchow, 
Soochow,  and  other  great  cities  on  the  Grand  Canal,  and  with  cities  in- 
numerable by  canals  innumerable. 


42 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

a mile  and  a half  along  the  Huang-pu,  the  centre 
of  Far  Eastern  commerce  and  gaiety,  the  “ Charing 
Cross”  of  the  Pacific — London  on  the  Yellow  Sea. 

But  there  was  a Shanghai  before  Shanghai — a 
Shanghai  which  still  exists,  increases,  and  flourishes 
— a busy  and  unsavoury  trading  city,  which  leads 
its  own  life  according  to  Chinese  methods  as  inde- 
pently  as  though  no  foreign  settlement  existed ; 
and  long  before  Mr.  Pigou,  of  the  H.E.I.C.,  in 
1 756,  drew  up  his  memorandum,  suggesting  Shang- 
hai as  a desirable  place  for  trade,  Chinese  intelli- 
gence had  hit  upon  the  same  idea,  and  the  port 
was  a great  resort  of  Chinese  shipping,  cargoes  be- 
ing discharged  there  and  dispersed  over  the  interior 
by  the  Yangtze  and  the  Grand  Canal.  Yet  it 
never  rose  higher  than  the  rank  of  a third-rate  city. 

It  has  a high  wall  three  miles  and  a half  in 
circuit,  pierced  by  several  narrow  gateways  and 
surrounded  by  a ditch  twenty  feet  wide,  and  sub- 
urbs lying  between  it  and  the  river  with  its  tiers 
of  native  shipping  as  crowded  as  the  city  proper. 
This  shipping,  consisting  of  junks,  lorchas,  and  na- 
tive craft  of  extraordinary  rig,  lies,  as  Lu  Yew 
said,  “like  the  teeth  of  a comb.” 

To  mention  native  Shanghai  in  foreign  ears 
polite  seems  scarcely  seemly  ; it  brands  the  speaker 
as  an  outside  barbarian,  a person  of  “ odd  tenden- 


“The  Model  Settlement" 


43 


cies.”  It  is  bad  form  to  show  any  interest  in  it, 
and  worse  to  visit  it.  Few  of  the  lady  residents  in 
the  settlement  have  seen  it,  and  both  men  and 
women  may  live  in  Shanghai  for  years  and  leave  it 
without  making  the  acquaintance  of  their  nearest 
neighbour.  It  is  supposed  that  there  is  a risk  of 
bringing  back  small-pox  and  other  maladies,  that 
the  smells  are  unbearable,  that  the  foul  slush  of  the 
narrow  alleys  is  over  the  boots,  that  the  foreigner 
is  rudely  jostled  by  thousands  of  dirty  coolies,  that 
the  explorer  may  be  knocked  down  or  hurt  by 
loaded  wheelbarrows  going  at  a run  ; in  short,  that 
it  is  generally  abominable.  It  is  the  one  point  on 
which  the  residents  are  obdurate  and  disobliging. 

I absolutely  failed  to  get  an  escort  until  Mr. 
Fox,  of  H.M.’s  Consular  Service,  kindly  offered  to 
accompany  me.  I did  not  take  back  small-pox  or 
any  other  malady,  I was  not  rudely  jostled  by  dirty 
coolies,  nor  was  I hurt  or  knocked  down  by  wheel- 
barrows. The  slush  and  the  smells  were  there,  but 
the  slush  was  not  fouler  nor  the  smells  more  abom- 
inable than  in  other  big  Chinese  cities  that  I have 
walked  through  ; and  as  a foreign  woman  is  an 
every-day  sight  in  the  near  neighbourhood,  the 
people  minded  their  own  business  and  not  mine, 
and  I was  even  able  to  photograph  without  being 
overborne  by  the  curious. 


44 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Shanghai  is  a mean-looking  and  busy  city  ; its 
crowds  of  toiling,  trotting,  bargaining,  dragging, 
burden-bearing,  shouting,  and  yelling  men  are  its 
one  imposing  feature.  Few  women,  and  those  of 
the  poorer  class,  are  to  be  seen.  The  streets,  writh 
houses  built  of  slate-coloured,  soft-looking  brick, 
are  only  about  eight  feet  wide,  are  paved  with  stone 
slabs,  and  are  narrowed  by  innumerable  stands,  on 
which  are  displayed,  cooked  and  raw  and  being 
cooked,  the  multifarious  viands  in  which  the  omni- 
vorous Chinese  delight,  an  odour  of  garlic  predomi- 
nating. Even  a wheelbarrow — the  only  conveyance 
possible — can  hardly  make  its  way  in  many  places. 
True,  a mandarin  sweeps  by  in  his  gilded  chair, 
carried  at  a run,  with  his  imposing  retinue,  but  his 
lictors  clear  the  way  by  means  not  available  to  the 
general  public. 

All  the  articles  usually  exposed  for  sale  in  Chinese 
cities  are  met  with  in  Shanghai,  and  old  porcelain, 
bronzes,  brocades,  and  embroideries  are  displayed 
to  attract  strangers.  Restaurants  and  tea-houses 
of  all  grades  abound,  and  noteworthy  among  the 
latter  is  the  picturesque  building  on  the  Zig-Zag 
Bridge,  shown  in  the  illustration.  The  buildings 
and  fantastic,  well-kept  pleasure  grounds  of  the 
Ching-hwang  Miao,  which  may  be  called  the  Muni- 
cipal Temple,  the  Confucian  Temple,  the  Guild 


ZIG-ZAG  BRIDGE  AND  TEA  HOUSE,  SHANGHAI 


46 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Hall  of  the  resident  natives  of  Chekiang,  and  the 
temple  of  the  God  of  War,  with  its  vigorous  images 
begrimed  with  the  smoke  of  the  incense  sticks  of 
ages  of  worshippers,  its  throngs,  its  smoke,  its 
ceaseless  movement,  and  its  din  are  the  most  salient 
features  of  this  native  hive. 

Yamens,  of  course,  exist,  and  yamen  runners,  for 
Shanghai  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  residence 
of  a Taotai,  or  Intendant  of  Circuit,  and  a magis- 
trate, in  whose  hands  the  administration  of  justice 
is  placed,  involving  responsibility  for  the  interests 
of  over  560,000  Chinese,  the  estimated  native  pop- 
ulation of  the  city  and  the  settlements,  the  total 
population  being  estimated  at  586,000. 

On  returning  to  the  light,  broad,  clean,  well- 
paved,  and  sanitary  streets  of  foreign  Shanghai,  I 
was  less  surprised  than  before  that  so  many  of  its 
residents  are  unacquainted  with  the  dark,  crowded, 
dirty,  narrow,  foul,  and  reeking  streets  of  the 
neighbouring  city. 


CHAPTER  III 

HANGCHOW1 

JOURNEY  of  150  miles  to  visit  friends  in 


il  the  ancient  city  of  Hangchow  required  no 
other  preparations  than  the  hire  of  a boat  and  the 
engaging  of  a servant,  whom  I was  compelled  to 
dismiss  a few  days  later  for  gross  dishonesty. 
Two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-five  steam 
launches,  owned  and  run  by  Chinese,  towing  7889 
passenger  boats,  carrying  605  foreign  and  125,000 
native  passengers,  entered  and  cleared  in  1897 
between  Hangchow,  Shanghai,  and  Soochow. 

Every  evening  one  of  these  launches,  towing  a 
long  string  of  native  boats,  leaves  the  Soochow 

1 Hangchow,  though  not  geographically  in  the  drainage  area  of  the  Yang- 
tze, as  the  capital  of  Chekiang,  which  has  been  declared  officially  to  be 
within  our  “ sphere  of  interest  ” in  the  Yangtze  Valley,  is  treated  of  here  as 
being  specially  interesting.  Of  Ningpo,  Wenchow,  and  Soochow,  open 
ports  in  the  same  province,  merely  the  net  value  of  their  total  net  trade  for 
1898  is  given,  along  with  that  of  Hangchow  : — 

Ningpo  .....  ,£2,162,780 

Wenchow  . . . . . 215,669 

Soochow  .....  229,113 


Hangchow  . 


47 


48 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Creek  below  the  British  Consulate  for  the  new 
treaty  ports,  opened  as  such  only  in  1896.  My 
small  bamboo-roofed  boat,  in  which  I could  just 
stand  upright,  much  decorated  in  the  tawdry  style 
of  Chinese  fourth-class  fancy,  and  through  which 
irremediable  draughts  coursed  friskily,  was  the 
contemptible  final  joint  of  a tail  of  nine  quaint  and 
picturesque  passage  junks  and  family  house-boats,  a 
varnished  procession  of  high-sterned,  two-storeyed, 
many-windowed  arks,  squirming  and  snaking  along 
at  the  stern  of  a noisy,  asthmatic  tow-boat.  There 
were  red  flags  flying,  gongs  crashing  out  disson- 
ance, crackers  exploding,  poles  with  clothes  drying 
on  them  pushed  out  of  windows,  incense  sticks 
smouldering,  and  reports  of  firearms ; and  with 
this  cheerful  din,  the  usual  accompaniment  of 
Chinese  movement,  we  started  in  the  red  twilight. 

I paid  six  dollars  for  my  boat  with  three  men,  and 
five  dollars  and  fifty  cents  for  towage,  about  23^. 

All  day  long  the  life  on  the  two-storeyed  open- 
sterned  boat  in  front  of  mine  was  exposed  to  view. 
It  was  occupied  by  three  generations,  nine  souls  in 
all,  under  the  rule  of  a grandmother.  They  rose 
early,  lighted  the  fire  and  their  incense  sticks, 
kotowed  to  an  idol  in  a gilded  shrine,  offered  him  a 
small  bowl  of  rice,  and  cooked  and  ate  their  morn- 
ing meal.  The  smell  of  their  cooking  drifted  for 


Hangchow 


49 


much  of  the  day  into  my  boat,  and  “ broth  of  ab- 
ominable things  was  in  their  vessels.”  The  man  sat 
in  the  bow  smoking  and  making  shoes.  The 
grandmother  lived  below  in  blissful  idleness  and 
authority.  The  wife,  a comely,  healthy,  broad- 
shouldered  woman,  with  bound  feet,  worked  and 
smoked  all  day,  and  contrived  to  steer  the  boat  as 
she  stooped  over  the  fire  or  the  wash-tub  by  hold- 
ing its  heavy  tiller  under  her  arm  or  chin  or  pressing 
her  knee  against  it.  Four  young  children  lived  a 
quiet  life  on  a broad  high  shelf,  from  which  they 
were  lifted  down  for  meals.  A girl  of  thirteen 
helped  her  mother  slightly.  Cooking,  washing, 
mending,  eating,  and  watching  my  occupation  with 
far  less  interest  than  I watched  theirs,  filled  up  their 
day.  Evening  brought  fresh  kotowing  and  burning 
of  incense  sticks,  the  opium  lamp  was  lighted,  the 
man  passed  into  elysium,  and  they  wrapped  them- 
selves in  their  wadded  quilts  and  slept  till  sunrise. 

I learned  their  habits  and  knew  their  few  “ plen- 
ishings,” and  perhaps,  as  they  stared  persistently 
at  me,  they  were  wondering  how  much  I earned  a 
day  by  writing  and  sewing,  a question  of  much 
speculative  interest  to  the  Chinese. 

The  country  looked  inviting  in  the  first  flush  of 
early  spring,  although,  like  our  own  fens,  it  is  a 
dead  level.  Houses,  villages,  mulberry  plantations, 


50 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

temples,  groves,  large  farmhouses,  shrines,  and 
Pai  fangs  succeeded  each  other  rapidly.  Great 
lilac  clusters  of  wistaria  bloom  hung  over  the 
water  from  every  tree,  the  beans  were  in  blossom, 
and  the  greenery  was  young  and  fresh.  At  times 
our  curiously  twisting  procession  passed  through 
ancient  water-streets  of  large  cities,  with  the  inevi- 
table picturesqueness  given  by  deep  eaves,  over- 
hanging rooms  and  balconies,  steep  flights  of  stone 
stairs,  and  rows  of  armed  junks  full  of  soldiers  or 
river  police  in  brilliant,  stagey  uniforms.  Several 
times  we  were  delayed  for  an  hour  or  more  by  the 
difficulty  of  getting  through  the  crowded  river 
streets  en  route. 

I have  since  learned  by  experience  that  China  is 
a land  of  surprising  bridges,  but  at  that  time  it 
amazed  me  that  we  entered  nearly  every  city  un- 
der a fine  arch,  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  in  height, 
formed  of  blocks  of  granite  cut  to  the  curve  of  the 
bridge,  the  roadway  attaining  the  summit  by  thirty- 
nine  steps  on  each  side.  Or  there  are  straight 
bridges,  the  piers  being  monoliths  thirteen  feet 
high,  and  the  roadway  massive  blocks  of  stone 
thirty  feet  long. 

Part  of  the  route  is  along  the  Grand  Canal,  that 
stupendous  work,  wonderful  even  in  its  dilapidation, 
which  connects  Hangchow  with  Tientsin.  This 


Hangchow  51 

part  of  it,  which  connects  Imperial  Hangchow 
with  the  flourishing  port  of  Chinkiang  on  the 
Yangtze,  was  cut  in  625  a.d.,  but  never  mapped 
till  the  work  was  undertaken  by  our  own  War 
Office  in  1865. 

If  the  “ nine  thousand  barks  conveying  tribute  to 
the  Emperor,”  as  described  by  an  ancient  writer,  no 
longer  crowd  its  waters,  I can  testify  that  at  the 
points  where  I touched  it,  such  as  Chinkiang,  the 
laden  fleets  were  so  vast  as  to  leave  only  a narrow 
lane  of  water  available  for  traffic,  and  that  on  arriv- 
ing at  Tientsin  from  Tungchow  my  boat  took  two 
days  and  a half  to  make  its  way  through  the  closely 
jammed  mass  of  cargo  and  passage  boats  at  the 
terminus. 

The  neighbourhood  of  the  Grand  Canal,  which 
suffered  terribly  in  the  Taiping  Rebellion,  has  re- 
covered itself,  and  is  again  yielding  its  great  har- 
vests of  rice  and  silk,  the  inexhaustible  fertility  of 
the  Great  Plain  having  effaced  every  trace  of  de- 
struction. If  the  Grand  Canal  since  the  dilapida- 
tion caused  by  the  outbreak  of  the  Yellow  River  in 
1851  is  far  less  valuable  for  through  traffic  than  it 
was,  it  is  still  of  immense  importance  as  an  artery 
for  the  commerce  of  the  great  provinces  through 
which  it  passes.  Lu  Yew,  a much-travelled  man- 
darin of  the  twelfth  century,  the  translated  account 


52 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

of  whose  journey  from  Shanjin  near  Ning  Po  to 
Kueichow  on  the  Upper  Yangtze  is  a fascinating 
bit  of  literature,  writes  that  at  the  sluice  gates  “ the 
concourse  of  vessels  was  packed  together  like  the 
teeth  of  a comb,”  and  so  it  is  still  in  certain  places. 
The  bridges  which  span  this  canal  are  among  the 
most  striking  and  beautiful  in  all  China — single 
arches,  sometimes  220  feet  in  span  and  30  feet 
in  height,  piles  of  massive  masonry,  with  massive 
decorations  wherever  any  deviation  has  been  per- 
mitted from  the  ordinary  stately  simplicity. 

Seven  centuries  ago  Lu  Yew  commented  on  the 
remarkable  industry  of  the  population  of  this  region, 
and  noted  that  “ both  banks  near  the  villages  are 
covered  with  waterwheels  pumping  up  the  water, 
women  and  children  alike  exerting  all  their  efforts, 
cattle  in  some  cases  being  also  at  work.”  The 
heredity  of  industry  is  still  manifest.  Not  an  idler 
was  to  be  seen  along  river  or  canal.  Every  agri- 
cultural operation  of  the  season  was  being  carried 
on  vigorously,  even  children  of  seven  years  old 
were  carrying  agricultural  burdens  on  their  should- 
ers. Women  with  robust  infants  strapped  on  their 
backs  had  their  hands  busy  with  the  distaff,  while 
working  the  waterwheels  with  their  feet ; and  all 
along  the  waterways  fishermen  were  busy  with  their 
great  bamboo  plunge  nets.  Lu  Yew  mentions  the 


Hangchow  53 

women  as  employed  with  both  waterwheel  and  dis- 
taff in  the  twelfth  century. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second  day  from  Shanghai 
the  steam  launch  cast  off  her  tail  at  the  mouth  of  a 
narrow  canal  overarched  with  trees,  up  which  my 
boat  moved  silently  as  far  as  a “ lock,”  by  which 
we  mounted  into  a broad  waterway  leading  direct 
into  Hangchow,  encircling  it  on  three  sides  and 
connected  with  other  navigable  canals,  spanned  by 
picturesque  stone  bridges,  and  giving  easy  access 
to  most  parts  of  the  interior  of  the  city. 

That  which  I have  called  a “ lock,”  properly  a 
pah  or  “ haulover,”  is  an  ingenious  contrivance  by 
which  the  difficulty  of  “ negotiating”  different  levels 
in  the  same  boat  is  skilfully  adjusted.  The  illus- 
tration shows  the  principle  and  the  mode  of  apply- 
ing it  in  Chekiang,  but  various  methods  are  adopted. 
The  essential  parts  of  the  contrivance,  as  shown 
here,  are  a smooth  stone  slide,  from  the  higher  to 
the  lower  level,  the  middle  of  which  is  thickly 
coated  with  moist  mud,  two  stout  and  tall  uprights, 
two  wooden  windlasses,  and  stout  bamboo  ropes 
with  strong  iron  hooks.  In  ascending,  the  boat  is 
wound  up  to  the  higher  level  by  a number  of  men 
at  the  windlasses,  and  in  going  down  she  is  drawn 
to  the  verge  and  tipped  over,  descending  with  great 
velocity  by  her  own  impetus,  the  restraining  rope 


54 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

at  her  stern  scarcely  moderating  the  violence  of 
the  plunge  with  which  she  takes  a header  into  the 
water  below,  when  everything  not  securely  fastened 
breaks  adrift,  and  a lather  of  foaming  water  surges 
round  the  surprised  passenger’s  feet.  A few  cash 
are  charged  for  the  transfer. 


A PAH , OR  HAULOVER. 

I thought  the  canal  entrance  to  Hangchow  grand, 
although  below  the  high  blank  walls  of  large  private 
residences  the  grassy  slopes  are  the  resort  of  un- 
pleasantly active  pigs  searching,  and  not  vainly,  for 
offal.  The  gunboats,  or  police  junks,  with  their 
striped  blue  and  white  canopies  and  brilliant  crews, 
and  the  lofty  bridges  are  pleasing  to  the  eye.  At  one 


55 


Hangchow 

of  the  latter  Dr.  Main,  for  eighteen  years  a C.M.S. 
missionary  doctor  in  Hangchow,  met  me,  and  I 
was  carried  through  a populous  and  dirty  quarter, 
through  a door  in  a high  wall,  and  under  a trellis  from 
which  hundreds  of  lilac  wistaria  clusters  were  hang- 
ing, into  a large  enclosure,  partly  lawns  and  partly 
rose  borders,  with  an  old-fashioned  English  house  on 
one  side,  and  on  the  other  two  the  fine  two-storeyed 
buildings  of  two  of  the  crack  hospitals  of  the  East, 
with  their  outgrowths  of  leper  hospitals  for  men 
and  women,  a home  for  leper  children,  and  an 
opium  refuge.  It  was  a bewildering  change  from 
the  crowds,  dirt,  and  sordid  bustle  of  the  lower 
parts  of  a Chinese  city  to  broad,  smooth,  shaven 
lawns,  English  trees  and  flowers,  English  buildings 
with  their  taste  and  completeness,  and  the  refined 
quiet  of  an  English  home. 

This  most  ancient  city,  situated  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  shallow  Ch’ien  T’ang  River,  of  which  a mag- 
nificent description  is  given  by  Marco  Polo  under 
the  name  of  Kinsai,  though  it  has  not  fully  recov- 
ered from  the  destruction  wrought  by  the  Taiping 
troops,  is  still  handsome  and  dignified,  and  to  my 
thinking,  with  its  lovely  environs,  is  the  most  at- 
tractive of  the  big  Chinese  cities. 

It  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  important,  as  the 
capital  of  the  rich  and  populous  province  of 


56 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Chekiang,  the  centre  of  a great  silk-producing  dis- 
trict, and  of  the  manufacture  of  the  best  silks,  the  sole 
source  of  the  silk  fabrics  supplied  to  the  Imperial 
Household,  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Grand 
Canal,  and  a great  centre  of  Chinese  culture  and 
literature.  It  possesses  the  Ting  Library,  the  fin- 
est private  library  in  China,  appropriately  housed 
in  buildings  adjoining  the  “palace”  of  the  Ting 
family.  The  arrangements  for  the  storage  and 
classification  of  books  are  admirable,  and  a very 
gentlemanly  and  intelligent  son  of  the  enlightened 
possessor  is  the  enthusiastic  and  capable  librarian. 
The  treasures  of  this  library  are  open  freely  to  any  - 
one who  introduces  himself  by  a card  from  an  offi- 
cial. The  collection  of  zoological  and  botanical 
books,  superbly  illustrated  in  the  best  style  of 
Chinese  wood  engraving,  is  in  itself  a noble  pos- 
session. Every  part  of  a plant  is  figured,  and  the 
illustrations  are  almost  photographically  accurate, 
leading  one  to  hope  that  the  letterpress  accompany- 
ing them  has  equal  scientific  merit ! 

Hangchow  is  also  important  as  a “ residential  ” 
city,  the  chosen  home  of  many  retired  merchants 
and  mandarins.  The  homes,  frequently  palaces,  of 
men  of  leisure  and  local  patriotism  adorn  its  streets, 
but  their  stately  proportions  and  sumptuous  dec- 
orations are  concealed  from  vulgar  view  by  high 


WEST  GATE,  HANGCHOW. 


53 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

whitewashed  -walls,  in  which  heavily  barred  and 
massive  gates  give  access  to  the  interiors.  The 
mansion  of  the  Ting  family,  in  which  I took 
“ afternoon  tea,”  with  its  lofty  reception-rooms, 
piazzas,  and  courts,  must  cover  two  acres  of 
ground.  It  is  stately,  but  not  comfortable,  and 
the  richly  carved  blackwood  chairs  with  panels  of 
clouded  grey  marble  for  backs  and  seats,  and  table 
centres  of  the  same,  seem  only  fitted  for  the  noon 
of  a midsummer’s  day.  Besides  the  dwellings  of 
the  “ leisured  class  ” there  are  those  of  high  of- 
ficials, bankers,  and  wealthy  tea  and  silk  merchants, 
many  of  them  extremely  magnificent,  the  cost  of 
one  built  by  a wealthy  banker  being  estimated  at 
,£100,000. 

I wrote  of  dirt  and  sordid  bustle.  This  is  chiefly 
by  the  waterside,  and  is  not  surprising  in  a city  of 
three  quarters  of  a million  of  inhabitants.  The 
“ West-End”  streets  are,  however,  broad,  light,  well 
flagged,  and  incredibly  clean  for  China.  Hangchow 
impresses  one  with  a general  sense  of  well-being. 
I did  not  see  one  beggar.  The  people  are  well 
clothed  and  fed,  and  I understood  that  except  dur- 
ing epidemics  there  is  no  abject  poverty.  It  is  the 
grand  centre  for  the  trade  of  a hundred  cities,  and 
much  of  the  tea  and  silk  sold  in  Shanghai  and 
Ningpo  passes  through  it. 


PAVILION  IN  IMPERIAL  GARDEN,  SI-HXJ. 


6o 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Everything  in  the  city  and  neighbourhood  sug- 
gests silk.  In  all  the  adjacent  country  the  mulberry 
tree  is  omnipresent,  planted  in  every  possible  place 
along  the  creeks,  on  the  ridges  separating  the  fields, 
in  plantations  acres  in  extent,  and  near  villages,  in 
nurseries  each  containing  several  thousand  shoots, 
in  expectation  of  a greatly  increased  demand  for 
this  staple  product.  There  are  7000  handlooms  for 
the  weaving  of  silk  in  Hangchow,  employing  about 
28,000  people,  and  360  of  these  looms  under  the 
inspection  of  an  Imperial  Commissioner  work  ex- 
clusively for  the  Imperial  Household. 

Some  of  the  silk  shops  rival  that  of  Laou  Kai 
Fook  at  Shanghai.  In  them  are  rich  self-coloured 
silks  in  deep  rich  colourings  and  the  most  delicate 
shades,  brocaded  washing  silks  in  various  shades  of 
indigo  dyeing,  and  delicate  mauves  and  French 
greys,  which  become  more  lustrous  every  time  they 
are  washed,  heavy  and  very  broad  satins,  plain  and 
brocaded,  and,  what  I admire  more  than  all,  heavy 
figured  silks  in  colourings  and  shades  unknown  to 
us,  sold  for  Chinese  masculine  dress,  and  brocaded 
with  symbolical  bats,  bees,  spiders,  stags’  heads 
dragons  for  mandarins’  robes,  and  the  highly  deco- 
rative characters  representing  happiness  and  longev- 
ity. These  quaint  and  beautiful  fabrics  are  not 
exported  to  Europe,  and  are  not  shown  to  Europeans 


Hangchow  61 

unless  they  ask  for  them.  Fans  exported  to  all 
parts  of  the  empire  are  another  great  industry, 
and  provide  constant  work  for  many  thousand  peo- 
ple. Elaborate  furniture,  silk  and  gold  embroider- 
ing, and  tinselled  paper  money  for  burning,  to 
supply  the  dead  with  the  means  of  comfortable 
existence,  are  also  largely  manufactured  in  this 
thriving  capital. 

The  situation  of  Hangchow  is  beautiful,  separated 
only  by  a belt  of  clean  sand  from  the  bright  waters 
of  the  Ch’ieng  T’ang  River.  The  south-western 
portion  is  built  on  a hill,  from  which  broad  gleams 
of  the  sea  are  visible  ; and  to  the  west,  just  outside 
the  walls,  is  the  Si-Hu  (Western  Lake),  famous 
throughout  China,  a lovely  sheet  of  water,  sur- 
rounded by  attractive  country  houses,  temples,  and 
shrines,  studded  with  wooded  islands  connected  by 
ancient  and  noble  causeways,  the  islands  themselves 
crowned  with  decorative  pavilions,  some  of  which 
are  Imperial,  and  are  surrounded  by  the  perfection 
of  Chinese  gardening,  as  in  the  case  of  the  beautiful 
Imperial  Library,  with  its  ferneries,  rockeries,  quaint 
ponds,  and  flowering  shrubs.  This  lovely  lake, 
with  its  deep,  wooded  bays  and  inlets,  its  forest- 
clothed  hills  and  ravines,  its  gay  gondolas  and, 
pleasure  boats,  and  its  ideally  perfect  shores,  which 
I saw  over  and  over  again  in  the  glorious  beauty  of 


62 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

a Chinese  spring,  mirrors  also  in  its  silver  waters  a 
picturesque  range  of  hills,  bare  and  breezy,  close  to 
the  city,  on  which  stands,  in  an  imposing  position, 
a very  ancient  pagoda,  while  the  lower  hill-slopes 
are  clothed  with  coniferous  trees,  bamboo,  plum, 
peach,  cherry,  camphor,  azalea,  clematis,  roses, 
honeysuckle,  and  maple.  Near  the  lake  is  a deep, 
long  dell,  the  cliffs  of  which  are  recessed  for  stone 
images,  and  which  contains  several  famous  temples, 
one  the  temple  of  the  “Five  Hundred  Disciples” 
who,  larger  than  life-size,  adorn  its  spacious  corri- 
dors. The  temples  and  shrines  of  this  beautiful 
glen  are  visited  daily  by  crowds  from  Hangchow, 
and  have  such  a reputation  for  sanctity  and  efficacy 
as  to  attract  100,000  pilgrims  annually.  The  dell  is 
guarded  by  two  colossal  figures,  under  canopies,  the 
gods  of  Wind  and  Thunder,  very  fine  specimens  of 
vigorous  wood-carving,  and  by  an  antique  pagoda. 

Hangchow  is  also  famous  for  the  phenomenon  of 
the  “ Hangchow  bore,”  seen  at  its  best  at  the 
change  of  the  monsoon,  when  an  enormous  mass  of 
tidal  water,  suddenly  confronted  by  the  current  of 
the  river,  uplifts  its  foaming  crest  to  a height  of 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet,  and  with  a thunderous 
roar  and  fearful  force  rages  down  the  narrow  water- 
way as  fast  as  a horse  can  gallop,  affording  a wel- 
come distraction  to  the  sightseers  of  Shanghai. 


GOD  OF  THUNDER,  LIN-YANG 


63 


64 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Hangchow  is  enclosed  by  a wall  faced  with  hewn 
stone,  about  thirteen  miles  in  circumference,  from 
thirty  to  forty  feet  high,  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
broad,  and  pierced  by  ten  large  gateways  with 
massive  gates.  The  houses  are  mainly  two-storeyed. 
The  business  streets  blaze  with  colour  ; the  prin- 
cipal street  is  five  miles  long.  The  population, 
estimated  at  700,000,  cruelly  diminished  during 
the  Taiping  Rebellion,  is  rapidly  increasing.  The 
officials,  merchants,  and  common  people  are  un- 
usually friendly  to  foreigners,  who,  before  the 
recent  opening  of  the  port,  were  all  missionaries. 
The  cry,  “Foreign  devil!”  is  never  heard.  Mr. 
Sundius,  our  consular  officer,  considers  that  these 
very  satisfactory  relations  are  due  to  the  greater 
prosperity  of  the  people,  in  consequence  of  the  in- 
creased foreign  demand  for  silk,  and  to  the  success 
of  the  exertions  of  the  missionaries  to  win  their 
respect  and  esteem. 

The  new  general  and  Japanese  settlements  are  in 
an  excellent  position  on  the  Grand  Canal,  four  miles 
from  the  city  wall.  They  are  nearly  a mile  in  length 
by  half  a mile  in  depth,  and  have  a fine  road  and 
a bund  sixty  feet  wide,  hereafter  to  be  turfed.  The 
Japanese,  who  opened  the  port  with  their  swords, 
have  not  been  in  any  hurry  to  occupy  it.  It  will  be 
interesting  to  see  how  far  foreigners  will  take 


65 


Hangchow 

advantage  of  the  opening,  and  settle  in  this,  one  of 
the  friendliest  and  most  attractive  of  the  Chinese 
cities.  There  is  a well-known  Chinese  proverb, 
“ Above  is  heaven,  below  are  Hangchow  and 
Suchow.” 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  HANGCHOW  MEDICAL  MISSION  HOSPITALS 
HE  hospitals,  and  the  dispensaries  attached  to 


1 them,  are  too  important  as  a feature  of 
Hangchow,  and  as  an  element  in  producing  the 
remarkable  good-will  towards  foreigners  which 
characterises  it,  to  be  dismissed  at  the  tail  of  a 
chapter. 

These  beneficent  institutions  treat  between  them 
over  14,000  new  patients  annually,  afflicted  with 
all  manner  of  torments.  The  services  of  Dr.  Main 
and  his  coadjutor,  Dr.  Kimber,  are  in  request 
among  officials,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 
Mandarins  of  high  rank,  attended  by  their  servants, 
are  treated  in  the  paying  wards,  and  occasionally 
leave  donations  of  100  dollars  in  addition  to  their 
payments.  Officials  of  every  rank  in  the  Chekiang 
province  send  to  the  British  doctors  for  advice  and 
medicines.  Among  the  many  marks  of  the  approval 
with  which  the  Viceroy  and  other  highly  placed 
officials  regard  the  medical  work  is  their  recent 


66 


C.M.S.  MISSION  HOSPITAL,  HANGCHOW 


68 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


donation  of  an  acre  and  a half  of  land  in  an  ex- 
cellent position  for  the  site  of  a branch  hospital. 
It  is  no  disparagement  to  the  work  of  Bishop 
Moule,  who  was  absent  during  my  visit,  and  the 
other  British  and  American  clerical  missionaries  to 
express  the  opinion  that  the  tact,  bonhomie , and 
devotion  of  Dr.  Main  during  the  last  eighteen 
years,  are  one  cause  of  the  friendliness  to  foreign- 
ers, the  Chinese  being  as  accessible  to  the  influence 
of  personality  as  other  people  are. 

The  men’s  and  women’s  hospitals,  of  which  the 
illustration  only  shows  portions,  are  of  the  latest 
and  most  approved  European  type.  They  are 
abreast  of  our  best  hospitals  in  lighting,  ventilation, 
general  sanitation,  arrangement  and  organisation, 
and  the  facility  of  obtaining  the  celebrated  Ningpo 
varnish,  really  a lacquer,  which  slowly  sets  with  a 
very  hard  surface,  reflecting  much  light  and  bear- 
ing a weekly  rub  with  kerosene  oil,  greatly  aids  the 
sanitation.  The  purity  of  walls,  floors,  and  bed- 
ding is  so  great  as  to  make  one  long  for  a speck  of 
comfortable  dirt ! 

The  men’s  hospital  buildings  consist  of  four 
roomy  and  handsome  general  wards,  eleven  private 
paying  wards,  holding  from  one  to  three  each,  a 
range  of  rooms  for  the  ward  assistants,  who  are 
practically  male  nurses,  students’  rooms,  rooms  for 


Hangchow  Medical  Mission  Hospitals  69 

the  three  qualified  assistants,  a lecture-room  with 
an  anatomical  (in  lieu  of  the  unattainable  human) 
subject  which  cost  a thousand  dollars,  a reception- 
room  for  mandarins  with  appropriate  Chinese  furni- 
ture, Dr.  Main’s  private  room  and  medical  library, 
a fine  consulting-room  and  operating  theatre,  bath- 
rooms, a room  for  patients’  clothing  done  up  in 
numbered  bundles  after  it  has  been  washed,  ward- 
robes for  the  clothing  which  is  lent  to  them  while 
in  hospital,  a cashier’s  office,  a large  bottle-room, 
extensive  storage,  and  an  office  for  out-patients. 

On  the  street  side  and  connected  with  the  hos- 
pitals is  a fine,  lofty  room  where  any  non-patient 
passers-by,  who  are  either  tired  or  curious,  can  rest 
and  smoke,  amusing  themselves  meantime  with  the 
transactions  of  the  other  half  of  the  hall,  a large 
and  attractive  “ drug  store,”  fitted  up  in  conven- 
tional Engl’sh  style,  where  not  only  medicines,  but 
medical  requisites  of  all  kinds  can  be  procured  both 
by  non-patients  and  foreigners.  It  has  been  re- 
marked by  Consuls  Carles  and  Clement  Allen 
in  their  official  reports,  that  missionaries  uncon- 
sciously help  British  trade  by  introducing  articles 
for  their  own  use,  which  commend  themselves  to 
the  Chinese ; and  this  drug  store  has  created  a de- 
mand for  such  British  manufactures  as  condensed 
milk,  meat  extracts,  rubber  tubing,  soap,  and  the 


;o 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

like,  condensed  milk  having  “caught  on”  so  firmly 
that  several  of  the  Chinese  shops  are  now  keeping 
it  on  sale. 

This  rest-room  is  also  a street-chapel  for  preach- 
ing and  discussion,  and  an  office  for  inquiries  of  all 
kinds.  There  is  also  a large  and  handsome  wait- 
ing-room for  out-patients,  decorated  with  scripture 
pictures,  in  which  patriarchs  and  apostles  appear  in 
queues  and  Chinese  dress,  and  an  opium  refuge — a 
mournful  building  full  of  bodily  torment  and  men- 
tal depression.  In  the  opinion  of  the  doctor,  “ the 
cure  ” is  seldom  other  than  temporary,  and  could 
be  effected  only  by  building  up  the  system  for  six 
months  after  leaving  the  refuge  by  tonics  and  nu- 
tritious diet.  Besides  these  buildings  there  are 
large  kitchens,  storehouses,  and  a carpenter’s  shop. 

The  women’s  hospital,  the  great  central  ward  of 
which,  with  its  highly  varnished  floor,  flowers,  pict- 
ures, tables,  chairs,  and  harmonium,  looks  like  a 
pleasant  double  drawing-room  in  a large  English 
mansion,  is  specially  under  Mrs.  Main’s  charge,  and 
has  head  and  junior  nurses  and  a dispenser  trained 
by  herself.  It  is  equally  efficient  and  admirable. 

Besides  the  hospital  staff  of  twenty-six  persons, 
there  are  three  native  catechists  who,  along  with 
Dr.  Main,  give  Christian  instruction  in  the  hospital 
to  those  who  are  willing  to  receive  it,  one  of  them 


Hangchow  Medical  Mission  Hospitals  71 

looking  after  patients  in  their  homes,  who,  having 
become  interested  in  Christianity,  have  returned  to 
their  villages  within  a radius  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles.  Recently  a patient,  who  had  been  for 
some  weeks  in  the  hospital,  recounted  what  he  had 
there  heard  of  Christianity  with  such  effect  that 
over  forty  of  his  fellow- villagers,  after  some  months, 
gave  up  their  heathen  practices  and  became  Christ- 
ians ; and  this  after  he  had  been  beaten  for  his 
new  beliefs  on  first  going  home. 

The  hospital  is  also  an  efficient  medical  school, 
where  the  usual  medical  and  surgical  courses  are 
given,  along  with  clinical  instruction,  during  a 
period  of  five  years.  This  school  has  helped 
largely  to  win  the  favour  of  the  mandarins,  who 
have  learned  to  appreciate  Western  surgery  from 
the  cures  at  the  hospital.  Some  of  these  students, 
after  graduation,  have  taken  good  positions  in 
Shanghai  and  elsewhere.  A few  in  going  into 
practice  in  the  province  have  somewhat  dropped 
European  medicine,  and  have  resorted  to  Chinese 
drugs  and  the  method  of  using  them,  but  all  ad- 
here to  Western  surgery,  the  results  of  which  in 
Chinese  eyes  are  little  short  of  miraculous,  but 
possibly  their  mode  of  carrying  out  antiseptic  treat- 
ment would  hardly  come  up  to  Lord  Lister’s  stand- 
ard ! It  is  frequently  believed  by  Chinese  patients 


72 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

that  the  object  of  this  treatment  is  to  prevent 
devils  from  gaining  entrance  to  the  body  by  means 
of  surgical  wounds  ! 

Dr.  Lu,  a refined  and  cultured  man,  Dr.  Main’s 
senior  qualified  assistant,  a graduate  of  the  hos- 
pital school,  would  anywhere  be  a remarkable  man 
in  his  profession,  first  as  a brilliant  operative 
surgeon,  and  then  for  insight  and  accurate  diag- 
nosis. He  has  won  the  confidence  of  the  resident 
foreigners.  He  is  a skilful  medical  photographer, 
and  his  microscopic  and  physiological  drawings  are 
very  beautiful  and  show  great  technical  skill. 

The  clock  tower  is  a decorative  feature  of  the 
building,  and  everything  within  moves  with  clock- 
work regularity.  The  hospital  is  in  a high  state  of 
efficiency  and  spick-and-spanness,  such  as  I have 
seldom  seen  equalled  abroad,  and  never  exceeded.1 
Such  work,  done  with  skill,  love,  and  cheeriness, 
has  an  earthly  reward,  and  Dr.  Main  is  on  most 
friendly  terms  with  the  leading  mandarins,  who 
have  it  in  their  power  to  help  or  hinder  greatly. 
The  hospital  blazes  with  their  red  and  gold  votive 
tablets,  and  I doubt  if  they  would  refuse  him  any- 
thing which  he  thought  it  wise  to  ask.  Almost 

1 Another  of  the  crack  mission  hospitals  of  the  East,  of  which  I had 
lengthened  opportunities  of  judging,  is  Dr.  Christie’s  hospital  at  Mukden, 
Manchuria,  which  has  been  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  about  similar 
results  in  the  friendliness  of  the  officials  and  people. 


Hangchow  Medical  Mission  Hospitals  73 

the  latest  additions  to  a work  which  is  always 
growing  are  convalescent  homes  in  the  finest 
position  outside  the  city,  on  the  breezy  hills  above 
the  Si-Hu  (Western  Lake). 

I have  heard  some  grumbling  at  home  at  the 
expense  at  which  this  hospital  is  carried  on,  but 
perfection  is  not  to  be  attained  without  outlay,  and 
in  my  opinion  the  Hangchow  hospital  is  a good 
investment.  It  is  most  desirable  that  Western 
methods  of  healing  should  be  exhibited  in  their 
best  aspects  in  the  capital  of  this  important  pro- 
vince, and  also  that  the  medical  school  should  be 
as  well  equipped  as  is  possible.  The  benefit  of  this 
and  similar  schools  is  incalculable.  The  linked 
systems  of  superstition  and  torture,  which  enter 
largely  into  Chinese  medical  treatment,  are  under- 
mined, and  rational  Western  surgery  is  demanded 
by  the  people.  European  treatment  also  assails 
the  degrading  belief  in  sorcery  and  demonism  in 
its  last  resort — the  sick-bed — showing  processes  of 
cure  which  work  marvels  of  healing,  altogether 
apart  from  witchcraft  and  incantations. 

Of  the  Medical  Mission  Hospital  as  a Christian 
agency  I need  scarcely  write,  as  its  name  is  signifi- 
cant of  its  work.  I believe  in  medical  missions, 
because  they  are  the  nearest  approach  now  possible 
to  the  method  pursued  by  the  Founder  of  the 


74 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Christian  faith,  and  to  the  fulfilment  of  His  com- 
mand, “ Heal  and  preach.”  It  is  not,  as  some 
suppose,  that  the  medical  missionary  takes  advan- 
tage of  men  in  their  pain  and  distress  to  “poke  at 
them  ” the  claims  of  a foreign  religion,  though  if 
he  be  an  honest  Christian  he  recognises  that  the 
soul  needs  enlightenment  as  much  as  the  body 
needs  healing.  I have  never  seen  a medical 
mission  among  the  forty-seven  that  I have  visited 
in  which  Christianity  was  “ poked  ” at  unwilling 
listeners,  or  in  which,  in  the  rare  cases  of  men 
declining  to  hear  of  it  in  the  dispensary  waiting- 
room,  it  was  in  the  very  smallest  degree  to  their 
disadvantage  as  patients. 

A fee  of  twenty-four  cash  is  charged  for  admis- 
sion to  the  dispensary  to  foster  a spirit  of  inde- 
pendence, and  the  charge  in  the  paying  wards  is 
from  two  to  ten  dollars  per  month.  Crowds  of 
out-patients  marshalled  like  an  army,  carefully 
trained  assistants  knowing  and  doing  their  duty, 
catechists,  ward  assistants,  cashiers,  photographers, 
cooks,  gardeners,  artisans,  make  up  the  crowd 
which  in  all  the  morning  hours  swarms  over  the 
staircases  of  the  hospital  and  round  the  great 
entrance.  The  dispensary  patients  present  a sorry 
spectacle,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  skin  diseases, 
superficial  sores,  and  cavernous  abscesses,  from 


Hangchow  Medical  Mission  Hospitals  75 

which  the  plasters  with  which  the  Chinese  doctors 
had  hermetically  sealed  them  have  been  removed. 
Young  and  old,  maimed,  deaf,  blind,  loathsomely 
disfigured  persons,  meet  together,  and  there  are 
often  cases  of  gun-shot  wounds,  elephantiasis,  and 
leprosy  in  the  throng. 

But,  wretched  as  the  patients  are,  they  are 
capable  of  being  amused  by  Dr.  Main’s  jokes,  and 
on  one  occasion  when  I was  photographing  four 
soldiers  of  the  Viceroy’s  guard  in  the  hospital 
grounds  the  hilarity  burst  all  bounds,  and  the  dis- 
tempered mass  yelled  with  enjoyment.  When  I 
photographed  the  backs  of  the  soldiers  they 
shouted,  “ She  pictures  their  backs  because  they 
ran  away  from  the  wojen  ” (dwarfs)  ; and  when  Dr. 
Main  displayed  their  brawny  legs,  they  nearly 
danced  with  the  fun  of  it,  yelling,  “ Those  are  the 
legs  they  ran  away  on.”  Not  that  the  Viceroy’s 
guard  had  encountered  the  Japanese,  but  these 
people  were  near  enough  to  Shanghai  to  have 
heard  of  the  figure  the  Chinese  troops  had  cut.  A 
Chinese  loves  a joke,  and,  as  I have  often  ex- 
perienced, if  he  can  only  be  made  to  laugh  his 
hostility  vanishes. 

One  of  these  men,  picturesquely  uniformed  in 
blue  and  crimson,  was  brought  back  an  hour  later 
at  the  point  of  death  from  opium,  having  attempted 


76 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

his  life,  not  because  he  had  been  laughed  at,  but 
because  of  a tiff  with  his  superior  officer. 

As  is  well  known,  suicide  is  appallingly  common 
in  China ; and  in  the  great  cities  of  Swatow,  Muk- 
den, and  Hangchow,  as  a guest  at  medical  mission 
houses,  I have  come  much  into  contact  with  its 
various  methods.  In  Mukden  a frequent  mode  of 
taking  life,  specially  among  young  wives,  is  biting 
off  the  heads  of  lucifer  matches,  though  the  death 
from  phosphorus  poisoning  is  known  to  be  an 
agonising  one.  Swallowing  gold  leaf  or  chloride  of 
magnesium,  jumping  down  wells  or  into  rapid 
rivers,  taking  lead,  cutting  the  throat,  and  stabbing 
the  abdomen  have  been  popular  modes  of  self-de- 
struction. But  these  are  rapidly  giving  place  to 
suicide  by  opium  owing  to  the  facility  with  which  it 
can  be  obtained,  the  easy  death  which  results  from 
it,  and  the  certainty  of  its  operation  in  the  absence 
of  the  foreign  doctor,  his  emetic,  and  his  stomach- 
pump.  Medical  mission  hospitals  in  China  save  the 
lives  of  hundreds  of  would-be  suicides  every  year. 

So  far  as  I have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  causes 
of  suicide  in  China  are,  not  as  in  Europe,  profound 
melancholia,  heavy  losses,  or  disappointment  in 
love,  but  chiefly  revenge  and  the  desire  to  inflict 
serious  injury  on  another.  Suicide  enables  a 
Chinese  to  take  a truly  terrible  revenge,  for  he 


Hangchow  Medical  Mission  Hospitals  77 

believes  that  his  spirit  will  malignantly  haunt  and 
injure  the  living ; and  the  desire  to  save  a suicide’s 
life  arises  in  most  cases  not  from  humanity,  but 
from  the  hope  of  averting  such  a direful  catastrophe. 
If  a master  offends  a servant  or  makes  him  “ lose 
face,”  or  a shopkeeper  his  assistant  or  apprentice, 
the  surest  revenge  is  to  die  on  his  premises,  for  it 
not  only  involves  the  power  of  haunting  and  of  in- 
flicting daily  injuries,  but  renders  it  necessary  that 
the  body  should  lie  where  death  occurs  until  an 
official  inquiry  is  made,  which  brings  into  the  house 
the  scandal  and  turmoil  of  a visit  from  a mandarin 
with  a body  of  officials  and  retainers.  It  is  quite 
common  for  a man  or  woman  to  walk  into  the 
courtyard  of  a person  against  whom  he  or  she  has 
a grudge,  and  take  a fatal  dose  of  opium  there  to 
ensure  these  desirable  results  ! 

Among  common  incentives  to  suicides  are  the 
gusts  of  blind  rage  to  which  the  Chinese  of  both 
sexes  are  subject,  the  cruelty  of  mothers-in-law, 
quarrels  between  husband  and  wife,  failure  to  meet 
payments  at  the  New  Year,  gambling  losses,  the 
desire  to  annoy  a husband,  the  gambling  or  extrav- 
agant opium  smoking  of  a husband,  imputation  of 
theft,  having  pawned  the  clothes  of  another  and 
being  unable  to  redeem  them,  being  defrauded  of 
money,  childlessness,  dread  of  divorce,  being  sold 


78 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

by  a husband,  abridgment  of  liberty,  poverty,  and 
the  like.  Opium,  from  the  painless  death  it  brings, 
is  now  resorted  to  on  the  most  trivial  occasions, 
and  has  largely  increased  the  number  of  suicides. 
Though  the  reasons  which  I have  given  for  self-de- 
struction apply  mostly  to  women,  yet  where  statis- 
tics are  obtainable  men  are  largely  in  the  majority, 
and  revenge  and  the  desire  of  inflicting  injury  are 
their  great  motives. 

Of  course,  there  are  very  many  risks  and  diffi- 
culties in  the  treatment  of  out-patients.  Chinese 
medicines  are  administered  bulkily,  a pint  or  a quart 
at  a time,  and  patients  do  not  understand  our  con- 
centrated and  powerful  doses.  Hence  dangerous 
and  grotesque  mistakes  are  continually  made,  such 
as  the  following : 

Patient — “ Doctor,  when  I took  the  medicine  you 
gave  me  yesterday  it  made  me  very  sick ; it  has 
given  me  diarrhoea  and  a severe  pain  in  the  stomach  ; 
my  fingers  and  toes  also  feel  very  numb.” 

Dr.  Malcolm  (looking  at  the  bottle) — “ Why,  you 
have  already  almost  finished  the  eight  days’  medi- 
cine ” (arsenic)  “ that  I gave  you  yesterday.  The 
wonder  is  that  you  are  alive  at  all.” 

Patient  No.  2.  enters — “ Where  is  the  old  boss 
of  this  shop  ? I want  some  foreign  devil  medicine 
to  cure  malaria.” 


Hangchow  Medical  Mission  Hospitals  79 

D. — “ Allow  me  to  tell  you  I am  not  a devil.  You 
had  better  go  home ; and  when  you  can  come  and 
ask  respectfully  for  medicine  we  will  give  it  you.” 

P.  No.  j enters,  holding  out  her  hand  and  asking 
the  doctor  to  find  out  her  disease  by  “ comparing 
her  pulses.” 

D.  — “ Tell  me  what  is  the  matter  with  you.” 

P.—“  My  bones  and  muscles  are  sore  all  over.” 

D. — “ What  was  the  cause  of  your  trouble  ?” 

P. — “ It  was  brought  on  by  a fit  of  anger.” 

D. — “ How  long  have  you  had  it  ? ” 

P. — “From  the  time  the  heavens  were  opened, 
and  the  earth  was  split”  (z.  <?.,  a very  long  time). 

The  arms  and  shoulders  of  this  woman  were 
covered  with  pieces  of  green  plaster,  given  her  by 
the  Chinese  doctors.  She  proposed  to  throw  these 
away  and  “to  publish  the  doctor’s  name  abroad” 
if  he  cured  her.  So  she  received  medicine  with 
very  full  directions  about  taking  it ; these  were  not 
enough.  She  asked  a string  of  questions  such  as 
if  she  must  heat  it  before  taking  it,  if  she  must  keep 
the  bottle  tightly  corked,  if  she  must  take  it  along 
with  anything  else,  and  lastly— 

P.—“  Shall  I abstain  from  eating  anything  ? ” 

“ No.” 

P.  (greatly  disappointed) — What  ! shall  I not 
forbid  my  mouth  anything  at  all  ? ” 


8o 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

D.  (jokingly) — “Yes.  Do  not  talk  too  much; 
do  not  revile  your  neighbours  ; do  not  smoke 
opium  ; do  not  scatter  lies.” 

The  doctor  getting  worried,  reiterates  plain  di- 
rections regarding  the  medicine,  tells  her  they  are 
very  busy,  and  that  she  must  not  ask  any  more 
questions,  and  shows  her  out. 

P.  (returning  after  a few  minutes) — “ Is  the 
medicine  to  be  taken  inwardly,  or  rubbed  on  the 
outside  ?” 

Or  a man  comes  in  and  describes  “ chills,”  and  a 
dose  of  quinine  is  prepared  for  him,  when  he  smiles 
serenely  and  says,  “ To  tell  you  the  truth,  it  is  not 
I that  take  the  chills ; it  is  my  mother.” 

Another  comes  in,  and  describes  with  great  mi- 
nuteness and  self-pity  his  symptoms,  which  are 
those  of  malarial  fever.  He  will  not  take  a dose  of 
quinine  in  the  dispensary,  but  wants  to  take  it  home, 
saying  he  will  not  “shake”  till  the  next  day.  He 
is  feigning  sickness,  in  order  to  get  quinine  and 
sell  it.  Or  an  operation  for  cataract  has  been  per- 
formed in  one  of  the  hospital  wards,  and  the  son 
of  the  patient  comes  to  the  doctor,  begging  him  to 
go  to  his  father,  who  says  that  his  eye  pains  him  so 
that  he  cannot  stand  it.  The  doctor  finds  that  the 
bandage  has  been  removed,  and  reproaches  the  son, 
who  said  that  some  friends  came  in  to  see  if  he 


Hangchow  Medical  Mission  Hospitals  Bi 


could  really  see  after  being  blind  for  so  many  years, 
and  took  off  the  bandage.  The  patient  had  rubbed 
the  eye,  the  wound  had  burst  open  and  was  sup- 
purating, and  the  man  was  blind  for  life. 

Some  patients  come  to  a hospital  out  of  impu- 
dence, some  in  the  hope  of  getting  drugs  to  sell, 
others  out  of  curiosity  to  see  how  the  “foreign 
devil  doctor”  works,  others  to  steal  the  clothes 
which  are  lent  to  in-patients,  and  others  for  a lark, 
pretending  to  have  various  diseases,  but  with  these 
the  Chinese  assistants  occasionally  indulge  in  a lark 
on  their  own  account,  and  turn  on  them  a pretty 
vigorous  current  from  the  electric  battery.1 

With  so  much  vexatious  expenditure  of  time,  so 
much  imposition  and  greed,  and  so  many  disappoint- 
ments regarding  interesting  cases  owing  to  the 
gross  ignorance  of  the  patients  and  their  friends, 
there  are  many  drawbacks  in  the  life  of  a missionary 
doctor,  and  even  in  such  long-established  work  as 
that  at  Hangchow,  and  with  such  admirable  equip- 
ments and  assistance,  it  cannot  always  be  easy  to 
preserve  the  courtesy,  gentleness,  patience,  and  for- 
bearance which  are  among  the  essentials  of  success. 

Of  the  patients  treated  in  Hangchow  last  year 
one  thousand  were  in-patients.  “ Discharged  cured  ” 

1 In  a paper  called  Medical  Missions  at  Home  and  Abroad  for  1898,  p. 
70,  the  reader  will  find  such  experiences  very  graphically  told  by  Dr. 
Malcolm. 

vol.  1.— 6 


82 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


might  be  written  against  the  great  majority  of  their 
names,  and  those  who  were  incurable  were  greatly 
benefited,  as  in  the  case  of  the  lepers,  whose  “ griev- 
ous wounds  ” are  closed  and  healed,  and  whose 
pains  are  subdued. 

Certainly  this  great  hospital  is  one  of  the  sights 
of  Hangchow,  and  no  one  could  become  acquainted 
with  it  without  recognising  that  those  who  work  it 
and  support  it  are  following  closely  in  the  footsteps 
of  Him  who  came  “not  to  destroy  men’s  lives,  but 
to  save  them.”  1 

1 These  hospitals  and  dispensaries  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Main  and  Dr. 
Kimber  treated  47,000  patients  in  1898,  of  which  number  1000  were  in- 
patients, and  besides  these  187  would-be  suicides  received  back  the  un- 
welcome gift  of  life.  These  benevolent  Christian  institutions  comprise 
hospitals  for  men  and  women,  an  opium  refuge,  three  leper  hospitals,  two 
convalescent  homes,  and  a home  for  the  children  of  lepers. 


CHAPTER  V 

SHANGHAI  TO  HANKOW  (HANKAU) 

ROM  Hangchow  I made  a very  interesting 


1 journey  by  canal  and  river  to  the  important 
and  historical  city  of  Shao  Hsing,  with  its  beautiful 
environs,  and  from  thence  by  inland  waterways  to 
Ningpo  and  its  lovely  lakes,  passing  through  a 
region  of  great  fertility,  beauty,  and  prosperity.  I 
must  put  on  record  that  I made  that  journey  with- 
out either  a companion  or  servant,  trusting  entirely 
to  the  fidelity  and  good-will  of  Chinese  boatmen, 
and  was  not  disappointed.  At  Ningpo  the  Com- 
missioner of  Customs  kindly  lent  me  the  Customs 
tender,  a fast-sailing  lorcha,  for  a week,  and,  engag- 
ing a servant,  I visited  the  Chusan  Archipelago  in 
glorious  weather,  spending  three  days  on  the  re- 
markable island  of  Putu,  the  Island  of  Priests,  sacred 
to  Kwan  Yin,  the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  and  two  at 
Tinghai,  on  the  island  of  Chusan,  where  the  graves 
of  the  four  hundred  British  soldiers  who  died 
there  during  our  occupation  present  a melancholy 


84 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

spectacle  of  neglect  and  disrepair.  The  region  be- 
yond Shao  Hsing  technically  belongs  to  another 
drainage  area  than  that  of  the  Yangtze,  and  is 
therefore  passed  over  without  further  remark.  I 
returned  from  Ningpo  to  Shanghai  by  sea. 

The  difficulties  of  getting  a reliable  interpreter 
servant  who  had  not  previously  served  Europeans 
and  who  was  willing  to  face  the  possible  risks  and 
certain  hardships  of  the  journey  I proposed  w'ere 
solved  by  the  kindly  intervention  of  friends,  and  I en- 
gaged a tall,  very  fine-looking,  superior  man  named 
Be-dien  who  abominated  “pidgin,”  spoke  very 
fairly  correct  English,  and  increased  his  vocabulary 
daily  during  the  journey.  He  was  proud  and  had 
a bad  temper,  but  served  me  faithfully,  was  never 
out  of  hearing  of  my  whistle  except  by  permission, 
showed  great  pluck,  never  grumbled  when  circum- 
stances were  adverse,  and  never  deserted  me  in 
difficulties  or  even  in  perils. 

My  other  preparations  consisted  chiefly  in  buying 
an  open  bamboo  armchair  to  be  carried  in,  plenty 
of  tea  and  curry  powder,  and  in  discarding  most  of 
my  few  possessions.1  As  nobody  in  Shanghai  had 
travelled  in  the  region  which  I hoped  eventually  to 

1 In  China  the  necessaries  of  existence,  food,  clothing,  shoes,  waterproofs, 
and  travelling-trunks  and  baskets  are  always  to  he  procured,  and  there,  as 
everywhere,  if  a traveller  uses  native  arrangements,  he  has  much  less  diffi- 
culty in  getting  them  handled  or  repaired. 


Shanghai  to  Hankow  (Hankau)  85 

visit,  there  was  no  information  about  it  to  be 
gained,  and  I left  for  my  journey  of  six  or  seven 
months  remarkably  free  from  encumbrances  of 
every  kind. 

Several  foreign  and  one  Chinese  company  own 
the  eighteen  fine  steamers  which  keep  up  daily 
communication  between  Shanghai  and  Hankow, 
and  dissipate  the  romance  of  travel  by  their  white 
enamel,  mirrors,  gilding,  and  electric  light.  The 
Poyanjr,  by  which  I was  a passenger,  and  the  only 
one,  as  far  as  Chinkiang,  resembles  most  of  the 
others,  being  of  an  American  type,  about  2000  tons 
burden,  luxurious  to  a fault,  and  officered  by  efficient 
and  courteous  gentlemen. 

Sailing  at  night,  the  lumpy  sea  which  is  apt  to 
prevail  in  the  estuary  of  the  Yangtze  is  got  over 
comfortably,  and  by  the  following  morning  it  is 
possible  to  believe  that  the  expanse  of  muddy 
water  is  actually  a river,  for  there  are  hazy  outlines 
of  brown  shores. 

The  first  day  on  the  river  was  cold  and  raw,  as, 
indeed,  were  the  days  which  followed  it ; the  damp- 
laden air  wrapped  one  round  in  its  dismal  chill. 
White  enamel  and  mirrors  were  detestable.  The 
only  thing  which  harmonised  with  the  surroundings 
were  the  stove  and  the  thick  woollen  carpet.  Yet 
the  mercury  was  at  45 0 — not  bad  for  mid-winter  ! 


86 


The  Yangtze  Valley- 

After  passing  Silver  Island,  a wooded  rock,  on 
which  is  a fine  temple,  we  reached  Chinkiang,  the 
first  of  the  treaty  ports  on  the  Yangtze,  and  well 
situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Grand  Canal  with 
the  river.  On  my  two  visits  I thought  it  an  attract- 
ive place.  It  has  a fine  bund  and  prosperous-look- 
ing foreign  houses,  with  a British  Consulate  on  a 
hill  above  ; trees  abound.  The  concession  1 roads 
are  broad  and  well  kept.  A row  of  fine  hulks  con- 
nected by  bridges  with  the  shore  offers  great  facili- 
ties for  the  landing  of  goods  and  passengers.  Sikh 
police  are  much  en  evidence , the  hum  of  business 
greets  one’s  ears,  traffic  throngs  the  bund,  the  Grand 
Canal  is  choked  with  junks,  and  the  rule  regarding 
sub-letting  to  Chinese  being  honoured  only  in  the 
breach,  the  concession  is  covered  with  godowns 
and  Chinese  residences,  and  judging  from  appear- 
ances only,  one  might  think  Chinkiang  a busier  port 
than  Hankow,  the  great  centre  of  commerce  in  Cen- 
tral China.  The  gross  value  of  the  trade  of  this  port 
is,  however,  only  about  ^4, 000,000  sterling  annually, 
but  is  advancing.  One  great  export  is  ground-nut 

1 Concession  is  not,  as  is  supposed  by  many,  a synonym  for  settlement. 
A concession  is  a piece  of  land  leased  by  the  Queen's  Government  and  let 
to  Western  merchants,  a stipulation  being  made  that  the  land  is  not  to  be 
sub-let  to  Chinese,  while  a settlement  is  an  area  within  which  Europeans 
may  lease  land  directly  from  the  native  proprietors.  In  both  cases  the 
Queen’s  Government  stipulates  for  the  right  of  policing  and  controlling  the 
land,  and  delegates  it  to  a council  of  resident  merchants. 


Shanghai  to  Hankow  (Hankau)  87 

oil,  which  is  carried  and  shipped  in  baskets  lined 
with  paper.  Another,  which  accounts  for  nearly 
one-fourteenth  of  the  value  of  the  exports,  is  the 
dried  perianth  of  certain  lily  flowers  ( Hemerocallis 
graminea  and  Hemerocallis  Jlava),  which  is  greatly 
esteemed  as  a relish  with  meats,  especially  with  pork. 

As  tokens  of  the  increasing  prosperity  of  Chin- 
kiang,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  recently  two 
filatures,  owned  and  managed  by  Chinese,  were 
opened,  the  machinery  in  one  of  them  being  of 
Chinese  manufacture,  while  the  factory  was  erected 
without  foreign  aid.  The  hands  employed  are 
women,  who  work  twelve  hours  daily,  at  io|^.  a 
day,  Sunday  being  a holiday.  The  success  of  this, 
under  native  management,  was  considered  dubious. 
A distillery,  for  distilling  spirit  from  rice,  is  another 
sign  of  progress  (or  retrogression  ?),  and  our  Ger- 
man rivals  have  done  a very  “neat  thing”  in  start- 
ing an  albumen  factory,  in  which  the  albumen, 
dexterously  separated  from  the  yolks  of  the  eggs, 
is  made  into  slabs,  which  are  sent  to  Germany  for 
use  in  photography,  the  preparation  of  leather,  and 
the  printing  of  cotton,  etc.  The  eggs  are  ducks’ 
eggs  solely.  The  yolks  undergo  some  preservative 
treatment,  and  after  being  packed  in  barrels  are 
exported  for  use  in  confectionery  and  bar-rooms. 
My  informant,  Consul  Carles,  is  silent  on  the  use 


88 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

to  which  they  are  then  applied,  but  doubtless  it  is 
well  known  to  frequenters  of  such  establishments. 

The  workmen  in  out-of-doors  trades,  such  as 
masons  and  carpenters,  seem  to  comport  themselves 
much  like  our  own,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  drink- 
ing tea,  resting,  and  smoking  whenever  it  pleases 
them,  taking  a long  siesta  in  summer,  and  in  winter 
not  beginning  work  till  nine.  The  building  trade 
is  a guild,1  and  there  are  five  large  guilds  in  Chin- 
kiang,  with  guild  funds  for  the  relief  of  widows  and 
orphans  of  former  members.  There  are  various 
missions  in  Chinkiang,  and  some  general  stir,  which 
may  be  expected  in  a city  of  140,000  souls. 

The  next  day,  which  was  raw  and  grim,  and  made 
the  stove-side  a magnet,  we  reached  Wuhu,  the 
ugliest,  if  I may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  of  all  the 
Yangtze  ports,  but  its  trade  is  not  unprosperous, 
having  more  than  doubled  in  the  last  ten  years,  its 
gross  value  as  to  the  principal  articles  of  export 
and  import  being  now  nearly  ,£2,000,000  sterling  a 
year.8 

There  again  the  Germans  have  started  an  al- 
bumen factory,  which  employs  fifty  women  and  ten 
men.  It  takes  7000  eggs  to  produce  100  pounds 
of  albumen.  Feathers  to  the  amount  of  ,£23,000 

1 A specimen  of  guild  rules  is  given  in  Appendix  A. 

5 For  brief  statistics  of  the  trade  of  the  Yangtze  open  ports,  see  Ap- 
pendix B. 


Shanghai  to  Hankow  (Hankau)  89 

for  the  last  year  of  returns  were  also  exported  to 
Germany  for  the  making  of  feather  beds. 

The  most  interesting  export  of  Wuhu  to  the 
general  reader  is,  however,  “China  ink”  which  is 
largely  produced  in  the  province  of  Nganhui. 
The  small,  black  sticks,  decorated  with  Chinese 
characters  in  gold,  are  known  and  appreciated  by 
us  all.  From  Wuhu  it  goes  to  all  parts  of  China 
and  of  the  world.  In  1895  two  tons  of  it  were  ex- 
ported from  Shanghai  to  foreign  countries.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  the  writing  done  in  the  vast  Chinese 
Empire,  as  well  as  in  Japan,  Korea,  Tonquin,  and 
Annam,  is  done  with  this  beautiful  ink,  which  is 
rubbed  down  on  a stone  ink-slab,  and  applied  with 
a sable  brush.  This  is  altogether  apart  from  its 
value  to  the  water-colour  art  of  all  nations.  It  is 
made  from  the  oil  expressed  from  the  large  seeds 
of  the  Elceococca  verrucosa , sesamum  oil,  or  colza 
oil,  varnish,  and  pork  fat,  burned,  the  resulting 
lampblack  being  of  various  degrees  of  fineness  ac- 
cording to  the  process  adopted  ; gold  leaf  and  musk 
are  added.  There  are  a dozen  different  grades, 
and  the  price  varies  from  2 s.  to  140^.  per  pound,  a 
pound  containing  about  thirty  sticks. 

Various  industries,  including  a steam  flour  mill, 
have  been  started  by  the  Chinese  in  Wuhu,  and  it 
is  a city  of  80,000  people,  but  to  a mere  passer-by 


go 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

it  is  most  uninteresting,  and  its  busy  streets  had 
neither  novelty  nor  picturesqueness  enough  to  re- 
pay me  for  a struggle  through  the  slush. 

That  night,  while  we  were  dining,  there  was  a 
tremendous  bump,  a crash,  and  a stoppage.  The 
junk  we  cut  into  went  down  like  a stone  with  all 
hands.  Not  a shout  or  cry  was  heard.  Boats 
were  lowered,  and  we  hung  about  for  an  hour ; it 
was  not  very  dark.  A Frenchman  brutally  re- 
marked, “ Good  ! there  ’ll  be  some  yellow  skins 
fewer.”  That  was  all. 

The  next  day  we  reached  Kiu-kiang,  another 
treaty  port,  with  a pretty,  shady  bund,  and  pleasant 
foreign  houses  in  shady  gardens,  but  it  has  a sleepy 
air  for  a city  of  55,000  souls  and  a trade  worth  two 
millions  and  a quarter  a year. 

Totally  destroyed  during  the  Taiping  Rebellion 
in  1858-59,  it  has  been  rebuilt,  is  surrounded  by  a 
defensive  wall  six  miles  in  circumference,  and  has 
regained  more  than  its  former  prosperity,  its  im- 
ports having  increased  steadily  for  the  last  five 
years. 

I have  mentioned  only  the  treaty  ports,  but  from 
Chinkiang  westwards  the  great  cities  on  or  near 
the  bank  divide  attention  with  the  engineering 
works  and  the  singular  vagaries  of  build  and  rig  in 
the  countless  craft  on  the  river.  Among  the  cities 


Shanghai  to  Hankow  (Hankau)  91 


on  or  near  the  river  are  Yang  Chow  Fu,  Nanking, 
the  southern  capital,  with  its  ruined  splendours  and 
picturesqueness,  Taiping  Fu,  the  great  and  pros- 
perous city  of  Nganking  Fu,  and  many  others,  be- 
sides countless  villages,  which  are  apt  to  lead  an 
amphibious  existence.  After  leaving  Kiu-kiang, 
the  most  prominent  objects  of  interest  are  the 
Great  and  Little  Orphans,  picturesque  rocks  about 
300  feet  in  height,  rising  direct  from  the  bed  of  the 
river,  and  appropriated,  as  all  picturesque  sites  are, 
by  the  Buddhists  for  religious  purposes.  The 
Great  Orphan  is  near  Hu-kow,  a bluff  on  the  river 
crowned  by  an  inaccessible-looking  building,  half 
temple,  half  fortress,  close  to  the  junction  of  the 
important  Poyang  Lake  with  the  Yangtze,  which  is 
effected  by  a short,  broad  stream. 

A city  on  a dead  level  can  scarcely  be  imposing, 
and  Hankow  is  not  impressive  from  the  water. 
Some  chimneys  of  Russian  brick  tea  factories  rise 
above  the  greenery  of  the  bund,  and  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  broad  Yangtze,  above  a squalid  suburb 
of  Wu-Chang,  appear  some  tall  chimneys  belonging 
to  a Chinese  cotton  factory  under  native  manage- 
ment, but  differing  from  those  at  Shanghai  in  that 
no  women  or  girls  are  employed,  the  Viceroy  con- 
sidering that  such  occupation  for  women  is  opposed 
to  good  morals  and  Confucian  principles  ! On  an 


92 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

elevation  there  is  also  a camp  with  crenelated  walls, 
an  abundance  of  fluttering  silk  banners,  and  vari- 
ous antiquated  engines  of  war. 

The  day  was  damp  and  grim,  but  the  kindly  wel- 
comes, cordial  hospitality,  and  big  blazing  fires  at 
the  British  Consulate,  where  I was  received,  made 
amends  for  the  external  chill,  and  my  visit  to  Han- 
kow is  among  my  many  pleasant  memories  of 
China.  Later  in  the  day  Dr.  Griffith  John  called 
on  me,  the  veteran  missionary  of  the  L.M.S.,  great 
as  an  evangelist,  a Chinese  writer  and  translator, 
and  as  an  enthusiast.  The  L.M.S.  has  its  mission 
buildings,  which  include  a church,  dispensaries,  and 
hospitals,  and  the  houses  of  its  missionaries,  in 
some  of  the  pleasant  shady  streets  which  intersect 
the  settlement.  They  have  various  agencies  at 
work,  and  are  full  of  hope  as  to  the  result.  I un- 
derstand that  Dr.  Griffith  John,  who  has  devoted 
his  life  to  China  and  means  to  die  there,  partly 
from  his  devotion  and  partly  from  his  literary  gifts, 
is  much  respected  by  many  of  the  official  and  upper 
classes,  and  has  much  influence. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  FOREIGNERS— HANKOW  AND  BRITISH 
TRADE 

HANKOW  or  Hanmouth,  Wu-Chang  Fu,  the 
capital  of  Hupeh,  and  Han  Yang  would  be 
one  city  were  they  not  bisected  by  the  broad,  roll- 
ing Yangtze,  nearly  a mile  wide,  and  its  great  trib- 
utary the  Han.  Hankow  and  Han  Yang  are  on 
the  north  bank,  and  Wu-Chang  on  the  south.  The 
“ congeries  of  cities,”  as  the  three  have  been  aptly 
termed,  is  about  600  miles  from  Shanghai.  Till 
1863  Hankow  was  an  open  city,  but  the  dread  of 
an  attack  by  northern  banditti  that  year  led  the 
Government  to  enclose  it  with  a stone  wall,  four 
miles  in  circuit  and  thirteen  feet  in  height,  raised 
by  a brick  parapet  to  eighteen  feet. 

Hankow  considers  that  it  has  the  finest  bund  in 
China,  and  I have  no  wish  to  dispute  its  assertion. 
In  truth  its  length  of  800  yards,  its  breadth  of  80, 
its  lofty  and  noble  river  wall  and  fine  flights  of 
stone  stairs,  ascending  40  feet  from  low  water, 


93 


94 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

its  broad  promenade  and  carriage-way  and  avenue 
of  fine  trees,  with  the  “ palatial  ” houses,  very  simi- 
lar to  those  of  Shanghai  and  Singapore,  on  the 
other  side  in  large  gardens  and  shaded  by  exotic 
trees,  make  it  scarcely  credible  that  the  first  authen- 
tic visit  of  Europeans  to  the  city  was  that  made  by 
Lord  Elgin  in  H.M.S.  Furious  in  1858,  and  that 
the  site  for  this  stately  British  settlement  was  only 
chosen  in  1861,  the  year  in  which  the  port  was 
opened  to  foreign  trade. 

Among  the  principal  buildings  are  the  British 
and  French  Consulates,  the  residence  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Customs,  and  the  Municipal  Buildings. 
There  is  a Municipal  Council  charged  with  the 
same  functions  as  that  at  Shanghai,  and  Sikh  po- 
licemen make  a goodly  show.  Dead  levels  are  not 
attractive  unless  they  are  bounded  by  the  living 
ocean,  and  the  bund  is  dull  and  gives  one  the  im- 
pression that  the  British  settlement  has  “ seen 
better  days.” 

The  foreign  community  consists  of  the  consuls 
and  their  staffs,  the  employes  of  the  Chinese  Mari- 
time Customs,  a very  few  professional  men,  a large 
number  of  British  and  American  missionaries,  and 
the  members  of  British  and  other  European  mer- 
cantile firms,  Russians  taking  a very  prominent  po- 
sition. The  residents  have  carried  their  amusements 


95 


The  Foreigners 

with  them,  and  amuse  themselves  on  a small  scale 
after  the  fashion  of  those  at  Shanghai.  There 
is  a popular  club  which  welcomes  passing  visitors, 
and  combines  social  attractions  with  a library, 
reading-room,  and  billiard-room,  keeping  in  touch 
with  the  world  by  frequent  telegrams.  There  is  a 
creditable  newspaper — the  Hankow  Times , which 
has  papers  on  Chinese,  social,  and  other  subjects — 
an  Episcopal  service,  a hotel,  a livery  stable,  and 
other  necessaries  of  the  British  exile’s  life.  Kind- 
ness and  cordial  hospitality  to  strangers  are  not  less 
characteristic  of  Hankow  than  of  the  less  frequented 
ports. 

The  climate  is  not  an  agreeable  one.  The  sum- 
mers, lasting  from  May  till  the  middle  of  Septem- 
ber, are  hot  and  damp,  and  severe  cases  of  malarial 
and  typhoid  fever  are  not  unusual.  The  atmos- 
phere is  thick  and  stagnant,  and  there  are  swarms 
of  mosquitoes.  Some  of  the  men  residents  pass 
the  hottest  summer  nights  on  the  bund  to  get  the 
little  air  stirring  on  the  river,  and  the  Chinese 
sleep  on  their  roofs  and  in  the  streets.  The  au- 
tumn months  are  very  pleasant,  the  mercury  falls 
to  the  freezing  point  in  January,  and  after  light 
frosts  there  is  a damp,  raw  period  till  warm  weather 
sets  in  again. 

Neither  Hankow  nor  its  neighbours  have  any 


96 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

special  features  of  interest  except  their  gigantic 
trade.  The  populations  are  not  openly  unfriendly  ; 
but  Consul  Carles,  his  wife,  and  I,  although  at- 
tended, had  mud  thrown  at  us  at  Han  Yang. 

The  glory  of  Hankow,  as  well  as  its  terror,  is  the 
magnificent  Yangtze,  nearly  a mile  wide  even  in 
winter,  rolling  majestically  past  the  bund,  lashed 
into  a dangerous  fury  by  storms,  or  careering  buoy- 
antly before  breezes  ; in  summer,  an  inland  sea  fifty 
feet  deep.  In  July  and  early  August  Hankow  is 
at  its  worst,  and  the  rise  of  the  river  is  watched 
with  much  anxiety.  The  bund  is  occasionally  sub- 
merged, boats  ply  between  houses  and  offices,  the 
foundations  of  buildings  are  softened,  exercise  is 
suspended,  gardens  are  destroyed,  much  business 
stands  still,  frail  native  houses  are  swept  away — as 
many  of  those  perched  on  piles  were,  with  much 
loss  of  life,  in  the  summer  rise  of  1898 — and  thou- 
sands are  deprived  of  shelter  and  livelihood,  and 
when  the  water  falls  widespread  distress  and  a mal- 
arious film  of  mud  are  left  behind.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  Sze  Chuan  water,  the  red  product  of 
the  “ Red  Basin  ” of  Richthofen,  indicates  to  the 
Chinese  intelligence  the  approaching  subsidence  of 
the  water,  and  points  to  a fact  of  some  scientific 
interest.  During  the  ordinary  summer  rise  the 
whole  region,  viewed  from  Pagoda  Hill,  has  the 


Hankow  and  British  Trade 


97 


dismal  aspect  of  a turbid,  swirling  inland  sea,  above 
which  many  villages  with  trees  appear,  built  on 
mounds,  probably  of  ancient  construction. 

Hankow  is  the  most  westerly  port  in  which  the 
Mexican  dollar  is  actually  current,  and  even  in  its 
back  country  copper  cash  are  preferred  to  either 
coined  or  uncoined  silver.  For  western  travel, 
over  and  above  any  amount  of  cash  which  the 
traveller  can  burden  himself  with,  “ sycee  ” silver  is 
necessary,  which  can  be  obtained  from  the  agency 
of  the  Hong  Kong  and  Shanghai  Bank,  as  well  as 
“ good  paper  ” — Chinese  drafts  on  Chinese  mer- 
chants of  repute  in  the  Far  West.  Silver  “shoes,” 
as  the  uncouth  lumps  of  silver  obtained  from  the 
banks  are  called,  are  worth  about  fifty  taels,  but  the 
tael  itself  is  not  of  fixed  value,  the  Haikwan  tael, 
in  which  the  customs  and  some  other  accounts  are 
kept,  varying  from  the  Shanghai  tael,  and  that 
again  from  the  Hankow  tael,  and  so  on. 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  silver  itself  is  unfortunately 
of  variable  quality.  Hankow  sycee  is  of  2\  per 
cent,  higher  “ standard  ” than  Shanghai  sycee,  and 
Sze  Chuan  silver  is  of  higher  standard  than  that 
of  Hankow,  so  that  the  traveller  is  subject  to  fre- 
quent losses  on  his  bullion,  besides  suffering  a good 
deal  from  delays  and  annoyances  consequent  on 
weighings  and  occasional  testings,  though  the 

VOL.  I. — 7 


9%  The  Yangtze  Valley 

trained  eye  alone  can  usually  detect  the  inferior 
“ touch  ” of  his  silver.  “ Confusion  worse  con- 
founded ” describes  the  currency  system,  if  “ cur- 
rency ” is  an  applicable  word,  when  once  the 
simplicity  of  the  Mexican  dollar  is  left  behind,  and 
I ceased  to  be  surprised  at  the  employment  of 
Chinese  “ shroffs  ” by  foreign  firms,  for  what  but  an 
Oriental  intellect  could  unravel  the  mysteries  of 
“ touch,”  the  differences  in  the  value  of  taels,  the 
soundness  and  genuineness  of  cash , and  the  daily 
variations  and  entanglements  of  the  exchanges  ? 

In  a treaty  port  which  has  been  open  for  thirty- 
nine  years,  and  which  in  1898  had  a net  import  trade 
of  T3,42  2*669,  and  a net  export  trade  of  ,£4,643,048, 
and  of  which,  so  far  as  the  import  of  foreign  goods 
is  concerned,  the  British  share  is  one-half,  the 
stranger  naturally  expects  to  find  British  merchants 
piling  up  big  fortunes,  and  the  size  and  stateliness 
of  the  houses  on  the  bund  gives  colour  to  this 
expectation. 

But,  in  fact,  while  the  English  firms  in  Hankow 
are  merely  branches  of  houses  in  Shanghai,  their 
Chinese  rivals,  who  have  driven  them  out  of  the 
import  trade,  are  Hankow  merchants  with  branches 
in  Shanghai.  There  are  about  eleven  of  these  big 
native  firms  which  supply  the  Hankow  market  with 
British  cotton  goods,  and  which  have  risen  on  the 


Hankow  and  British  Trade 


99 


ruins  of  British  competitors.  These  wealthy  firms, 
dealing  wholesale,  supply  the  up-country  merchants 
and  local  shopkeepers,  buying  goods  through  their 
branches  in  Shanghai,  which  employ  Chinese  brok- 
ers speaking  “ pidgin  ” English  to  buy  the  partic- 
ular goods  they  want  from  the  foreign  importers. 
They  keep  well  up  to  date  regarding  Shanghai 
auction  sales,  of  which  they  get  catalogues  in 
Chinese,  and  are  quick  to  seize  on  every  small  ad- 
vantage. The  British  merchant  was  shortsighted 
enough  totally  to  neglect  to  open  up  direct  business 
relations  with  the  up-country  merchants,  and  was 
content  to  deal  entirely  with  the  Hankow  native 
importer,  to  whom  he  left  all  the  advantages  of 
local  connection  and  knowledge.1 

This  unfortunate  state  of  things  does  not  seem 
likely  to  improve  either  in  Hankow  or  elsewhere. 
Our  methods  of  doing  business  are  frank  and  open, 
and  the  Chinese  merchants  have  become  as  well 
acquainted  with  foreign  trade  methods  as  are 
Europeans  themselves,  while  of  their  customs  in 
trade  and  their  arrangements  among  themselves 
for  conducting  business  we  know  scarcely  anything, 
and  have  no  organisations  equivalent  to  those 
centred  in  the  guilds.  Whether  it  is  too  late  to 

1 For  minor  causes  of  the  loss  of  the  import  trade  see  Trade  of  Central  and 
Southern  China , Bourne,  Foreign  Office,  May,  1898. 


IOO 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


stem  the  tide  which  is  gradually  sweeping  business 
out  of  foreign  into  native  hands  I know  not,  but 
though  actual  British  trade  may  not  suffer,  the 
openings  for  young  men  in  mercantile  houses  in 
China  are  diminishing  yearly,  unless  capital,  push, 
a preference  for  business  over  athletics,  a working 
knowledge  of  the  Chinese  language  and  business 
methods,  and  a determination  to  succeed,  should 
develop  the  trade  and  traffic  of  the  Tungting  Lake, 
and  turn  to  account  the  great  possibilities  for  Lan- 
cashire trade  in  Hunan,  even  though  the  ground 
lost  in  other  directions  can  never  be  recovered. 

As  to  the  trade  of  Hankow,  naturally  an  interest- 
ing subject,  I shall  make  very  few  remarks,  the  first 
being  that  in  the  year  1898,  550,000  tons  of  British 
shipping  entered  the  port,  against  60,624  of  all 
other  nationalities,  exclusive  of  the  Chinese,  Japan 
taking  the  lead  among  them  with  32,099.  Hankow 
has  lost  much  of  her  once  enormous  tea  trade,  ow- 
ing to  deterioration  in  quality  and  the  change  of 
fashion  in  England.1  Russian  merchants  now  have 
the  tea  trade  in  their  hands  ; they  have  factories  for 
the  production  of  “ brick  tea”  at  both  Hankow  and 


1 In  1868  the  average  consumption  of  tea  per  head  of  the  population  of 
the  United  Kingdom  was  3.52  lbs.,  of  which  93  per  cent,  was  Chinese  tea, 
and  7 per  cent.  Indian.  Since  that  date  the  consumption  has  risen  to  an 
average  of  5.73  per  head  of  the  population,  but  only  11  per  cent,  is  Chinese 
tea,  while  the  tea  grown  in  India  and  Ceylon  is  89  per  cent. 


Hankow  and  British  Trade 


IOI 


Kiu-kiang,  while  in  1898  five  of  the  big  steamers 
of  the  Russian  Volunteer  Fleet  loaded  tea  direct 
for  Odessa,  and  one  steamer  for  St.  Petersburg. 

German  and  Austrian  firms  have  started  several 
albumen  factories  in  Hankow,  the  best  of  the  pro- 
duct being  used  in  photography ; the  Japanese  are 
now  running  two  steamers  a week  between  it  and 
Shanghai,  and  will  not  improbably  “ cut  in  ” ahead 
of  others  for  the  trade  and  traffic  of  the  lake  and 
inland  rivers.  Numbers  of  these  alert  traders  have 
come  up  the  Yangtze,  and  in  their  practical  way 
are  spreading  themselves  through  the  country,  find- 
ing out  the  requirements  and  tastes  of  the  people, 
and  quietly  pushing  their  trade  in  small  articles, 
while  Japan  is  also  going  ahead  with  her  larger 
exports,  the  quantity  of  her  cotton  yarn  imported 
into  Hankow  having  risen  from  150  cwt.  in  1895 
to  260,332  in  1898,  displacing  Indian  yarn  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Japanese  merchants,  like  the 
Germans,  do  not  despise  littles  in  trade,  and  are 
content  with  small  profits,  and  most  of  what  is 
known  as  the  “muck  and  truck”  trade  is  in  their 
hands,  in  extending  which  they  will  prove  formid- 
able competitors  of  each  other.  Nor  ought  the 
competition  of  Japan  in  the  larger  branches  of 
trade  to  be  ignored  by  us,  for  to  extend  her  mar- 
kets is  an  absolute  necessity  of  her  existence,  and 


102  The  Yangtze  Valley 

the  markets  of  China  are  a fair  field  for  her  com- 
mercial ambition. 

I cannot  omit  all  mention  of  kerosene  oil,  the 
import  of  which  increases  “ by  leaps  and  bounds,” 
American  taking  the  lead,  and  which  is  greatly 
diminishing  the  production  of  the  native  illuminat- 
ing oils.  This  kerosene  oil,  imported  from  Russia, 
America,  and  Sumatra,  to  the  quantity,  in  1898,  of 
16,055,000  gallons,  goes  from  Hankow  through  six 
provinces.  It  is  one  among  the  agents  which  are 
producing  changes  in  the  social  life  of  China.  I 
have  seen  the  metamorphosis  effected  by  it  in  the 
village  life  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  and  Korea, 
where  the  saucer  of  fish  oil,  with  its  smoky  wick, 
and  the  dim,  dull  andon  have  been  replaced  by  the 
bright,  cheerful  “ parrafin  lamp,”  a gathering  point 
for  the  family,  rendering  industry  and  occupation 
possible.  Chinese  rooms  are  inconceivably  dark, 
and  smoking,  sleeping,  and  gambling  were  the  only 
possible  modes  of  getting  rid  of  the  long  winter 
evenings  among  the  poorer  classes  till  kerosene  oil 
came  upon  the  scene. 

Hankow  has  eight  regular  guilds,  which  are 
banks  and  cash  shops,  rice  and  grain  dealers,  cloth- 
iers and  mercers,  grocers  and  oilmen,  ironmasters, 
wholesale  dealers  in  copper  and  metals,  dealers  in 
Kiangsi  china,  and  wholesale  druggists,  Hankow 


Hankow  and  British  Trade 


103 


having  one  of  the  largest  and  best  drug  markets  in 
China.  It  would  be  well  if  we  realised  the  extreme 
importance  of  these  and  similar  trade  organisations. 
We  may  talk  of  spheres  of  interest  and  influence, 
and  make  commercial  treaties  giving  us  the  advant- 
ages of  the  “ most  favoured  nation”  clause  ; but  till 
we  understand  the  power  of  the  guilds,  and  can 
cope  with  them  on  terms  of  equality,  and  are  “ up 
to  Chinese  methods  of  business,”  we  shall  continue 
to  see  what  we  are  now  seeing  at  Hankow  and  else- 
where, which  I have  already  alluded  to.  There  is 
much  that  is  admirable  in  these  guilds,  and  their 
trades-unionism,  combinations,  and  systems  of  ter- 
rorism are  as  perfect  as  any  machinery  of  the  same 
kind  in  England.  In  any  matters  affecting  the 
joint  interests  of  a trade,  the  members  or  their 
delegates  meet  and  consult.  The  rules  of  guilds 
are  both  light  and  severe,  and  no  infringement  of 
them  is  permitted  without  a corresponding  penalty  ; 
these  penalties  vary  from  a feast  and  a theatrical 
entertainment  being  inflicted  on  the  guilty  person 
to  expulsion  from  the  guild  in  a flagrant  case,  which 
means  the  commercial  ruin  of  the  offender. 


CHAPTER  VII 

CHINESE  HANKOW  (HANKAU) 

IT  is  a short  step  from  the  stately  dulness  of  the 
bund  to  the  crowds,  colour,  and  noise  of  the 
native  city — the  “ Million-peopled  City,”  the  com- 
mercial centre  of  China,  the  greatest  “ distributing 
point  ” in  the  empire,  the  centre  of  the  tea  trade, 
which  has  fallen  practically  into  Russian  hands,  and 
the  greatest  junk  port  in  China. 

The  city  wall  is  imposing,  with  a crenelated  par- 
apet, forts  at  the  corners,  and  tunnelled  under 
double-roofed  gate-towers  for  heavily  bossed  gates, 
which  are  closed  from  sunset  to  sunrise.  The  un- 
paved roadways  are  usually  foul  quagmires  owing 
to  the  perpetual  passage  of  water  carriers ; where 
big  dogs  of  the  colour  of  dirty  flannel,  with  pink 
patches  of  hairlessness,  wrangle  over  offal.  The 
streets  are  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  wide.  The 
houses  are  high.  Matting  or  blue  cotton  is  stretched 
across  from  opposite  roofs  in  summer  to  moderate 
the  sun’s  heat  and  glare ; so  the  traffic  is  carried 


104 


Chinese  Hankow  (Hankau)  105 

on  in  a curiously  tinted  twilight,  flecked  now 
and  then  by  a vivid  ray  gleaming  on  the  red  and 
gold  of  the  long,  hanging  shopboards,  lighting  up 
their  flare  and  glare,  and  giving  them  a singular 
picturesqueness. 

The  shape  of  the  signboard  and  the  different 
colours  of  the  letters  and  face  of  the  sign  indicate 
different  trades.  The  devising  of  a signboard  is  a 
very  important  matter ; it  may  effect  the  luck  of 
the  shop.  The  name  of  the  shopkeeper  comes 
first,  but  in  the  case  of  a firm  a word  of  good  omen 
is  substituted  for  the  names,  with  a character  sig- 
nifying union.  In  both  cases  the  top  characters  are 
followed  by  words  of  good  omen,  suggesting  wealth, 
prosperity,  and  increase. 

Gold  platers  of  ornaments  use  salmon-coloured 
boards  with  green  characters,  druggists  gilded 
boards  frequently  traced  with  many  lines,  and  large 
standard  tablets  which  remain  in  their  sockets  at 
night,  and  there  are  a few  other  combinations  of 
colour  used  by  different  traders  for  the  sake  of 
easy  distinction  ; and  on  some  signboards  the  arti- 
cles sold  within  are  carefully  pictured,  but  black 
and  gold  and  carnation-red  and  gold  largely  pre- 
dominate, the  gold  being  used  for  the  highly  deco- 
rative characters,  the  writing  of  which  is  a lucrative 
trade.  An  old  signboard  is  a valuable  piece  of 


106  The  Yangtze  Valley 

property,  and  if  the  business  is  sold  fetches  a high 
price,  like  the  good-will  of  a long-established  busi- 
ness at  home.  An  old-established  druggist’s  sign 
has  sold  for  as  much  as  3000  taels,  about  ^450. 
In  the  winter,  with  the  streets  so  decorated,  with 
the  overhead  screens  removed,  the  narrow  strips  of 
bright  blue  sky  above,  and  the  slant  sunbeams 
touching  gold  and  colour  into  marvellous  brilliancy, 
Chinese  cities,  especially  Canton  and  Foochow, 
have  a nearly  unrivalled  picturesqueness. 

Of  the  crowded  and  semi-impassable  state  of 
such  streets  no  adequate  idea  can  be  given.  Though 
on  my  first  visit  to  the  native  city  the  British  Con- 
sul was  walking  beside  me  with  an  attendant,  and 
my  bearers  wore  the  red-plumed  hats  and  well- 
known  liveries  of  the  Consulate,  I was  often  brought 
to  a halt,  more  or  less  ignominious,  or  was  roughly 
shaken  by  the  impact  of  the  burden  of  some  hurry- 
ing coolie,  while  the  chairmen  threaded  their  way 
with  difficulty  through  thousands  of  busy,  blue-clad 
Chinese,  all  shouting  or  yelling,  my  bearers  adding 
to  the  din  by  the  yelling  in  chorus  which  is  supposed 
to  clear  a passage  for  a chair. 

Among  the  meaner  cotton-clad  folk  there  were 
not  wanting  rich  costumes  of  heavy  brocaded  silks 
and  costly  furs,  worn  probably  by  compradores  and 
shopkeepers,  who  in  the  treaty  ports  are  coming  to 


Chinese  Hankow  (Hankau)  107 

vie  with  the  highest  officials  in  the  splendid  expens- 
iveness of  their  dress.  Occasionally  yells  louder 
than  usual,  and  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  crowd 
to  pack  itself  to  right  and  left,  denoted  the  approach 
of  a mandarin  in  a heavy,  coloured  and  gilded  offi- 
cial chair,  with  eight  bearers,  and  many  attendants 
in  heavily  plumed  hats  and  red  and  black  decorated 
dresses  ; the  official  himself  sitting  very  erect  within 
his  chair,  nearly  always  very  pale  and  fat,  with  a 
thin  moustache  of  long  curved  hairs,  and  that  look 
of  unutterable  superciliousness  and  scorn  which  no 
Oriental  of  another  race  is  equally  successful  in 
attaining. 

The  principal  streets  are  flagged ; the  others  are 
miry  ways  cut  into  deep  ruts  by  wheelbarrows. 
“ Ancient  and  fish-like  smells  ” abound,  and  strong 
odours  of  garlic,  putrid  mustard,  frizzling  pork,  and 
of  the  cooking  of  that  most  appetising  dish,  fish  in 
a state  of  decomposition,  drift  out  of  the  crowded 
eating-houses.  If  of  the  lower  class,  the  culinary 
operations  of  restaurants  are  visible  from  the  street, 
the  utensils  consisting  of  a row  of  pans  set  into 
brickwork,  one  or  two  iron  pots,  and  a few  earthen- 
ware dishes.  Not  a tipsy  man  or  a man  noisy  with 
drink  was  to  be  seen.  The  Chinese  have  the  vir- 
tue of  using  alcoholic  liquor  in  great  moderation, 
and  almost  altogether  with  their  food. 


108  The  Yangtze  Valley 

Oil  in  earthenware  jars,  each  large  enough  to 
contain  a man,  or  freshly  arrived  in  the  paper-lined 
wicker  baskets  in  which  it  is  shipped  from  Sze 
Chuan,  denotes  the  oil  shops  ; parcels  of  tea  done 
up  in  oiled  paper,  built  up  to  a great  height  with 
surprising  regularity,  slabs  of  brick  tea,  and  sacks 
of  sugar  denote  the  grocers  ; while  rolls  of  carefully 
packed  silk,  which  one  longs  to  investigate,  pro- 
claim the  prince  of  retail  shopkeepers,  the  dealer  in 
silks. 

There  are  bean  cakes,  melon  seeds,  dates,  and 
drugs  from  the  north  and  west,  brought  in  by  the 
great  junks,  with  huge  sweeps  and  Vandyke-brown 
sails,  which  crowd  the  Han.  There  are  idol-makers 
with  every  sort  and  size  of  idol  for  home  use  and 
export,  some  of  which  find  their  way  to  Tibet  and 
Turkestan,  and  receive  perpetual  worship  in  the 
homes  and  gonpas  of  Ladak  and  Nubra;  but  none 
of  them  are  treated  with  even  scant  respect  until 
the  ceremony  takes  place  which  invests  them  with 
the  soul,  represented  by  silver  models  of  the  “five 
viscera,”  which  are  inserted  at  a door  in  the  back. 
In  the  same  quarter  are  dealers  in  the  manifold 
paraphernalia  of  idol  worship,  in  the  tinsel,  gold, 
and  silver  shoes  burned  in  ancestor  worship,  and  in 
the  very  clever  and  in  some  cases  life-size  repre- 
sentations of  elephants,  tigers,  horses,  asses,  cows, 


A STREET  IN  HANKOW 

IOg 


1 IO 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

houses,  carts,  and  many  other  things  which  are 
burned  at  funerals,  adding  to  their  great  costliness, 
the  sons  of  a merchant  of  average  means  often 
spending  a thousand  dollars  on  these  mimicries. 

But  while  there  are  dealers  in  everything  which 
can  minister  to  the  luxury  or  necessities  of  the 
“ Million-peopled  City,”  many  of  the  shops  give  a 
piteous  notion  of  the  poverty  of  their  customers. 
And  everywhere  in  these  crowded  streets  not  a 
thing  is  sold,  from  a valuable  diamond  down  to  a 
straw  shoe,  without  the  deafening  din  of  bargain- 
ing, no  seller  asking  what  he  means  to  take,  and  no 
purchaser  offering  what  he  eventually  means  to 
give,  the  poorest  buyers,  to  whom  time  is  money, 
thinking  an  hour  not  misspent  if  they  get  a reduc- 
tion of  half  a cash.  As  all  the  bargaining,  except 
in  the  case  of  the  great  shops,  is  done  at  the  shop 
fronts,  and  the  bargainers  are  men,  and  Chinese 
men,  especially  of  the  lower  orders,  shout  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  the  Babel  in  a Chinese  commercial 
street  is  inconceivable. 

Enormous  quantities  of  goods  are  everywhere 
waiting  for  transit,  for  Hankow  is  the  greatest 
distributing  centre  in  China,  and  the  big  steamers 
lying  at  the  bund,  or  at  anchor  in  the  stream,  and 
the  thousand  junks  which  crowd  the  waterways, 
seem  barely  sufficient  for  her  gigantic  commerce. 


COFFINS  AWAITING  BURIAL 


I 12 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Among  the  ghastly  curiosities  of  Hankow,  as  of 
all  big  Chinese  cities,  are  the  coffin  shops,  which 
usually  herd  together  in  special  quarters  and  are 
apt  to  use  portions  of  the  streets  for  their  timber- 
yards.  In  them  are  seen  the  great  cumbrous  coffins, 
at  times  ten  and  even  twelve  feet  in  length,  which 
Chinese  custom  demands,  of  all  grades  and  prices, 
from  highly  polished  lacquer  with  characters  raised 
or  incised  in  gold  to  the  roughly  put  together 
shell  in  which  the  tired  coolie  takes  his  last  sleep. 
Many  of  the  more  costly  are  ordered  as  filial  gifts 
from  children  to  parents,  and  from  grandchildren  to 
grandparents,  and  take  their  lugubrious  place,  set 
up  on  end,  among  the  decorations  of  the  lofty 
vestibule  by  which  rich  men’s  houses  are  entered, 
and  where  they  may  rest  for  years.  As  a body  may 
remain  for  months  or  years  unburied,  waiting  for 
the  decision  of  the  geomancers  as  to  an  auspicious 
place  and  date  for  the  interment,  the  coffins  are 
very  carefully  constructed,  and  are  either  lacquered 
or  treated  with  the  celebrated  Ningpo  varnish, 
which  is  practically  impermeable  both  to  air  and 
moisture. 

The  varnishers  and  lacquerers  also  herd  together, 
and  their  trade,  which  is  based  on  the  Rhus  verni- 
cifera , is  a very  important  one.  The  eating-houses 
— and  from  the  number  of  them  and  the  crowds 


HANKOW  FROM  HAN  YANG 


1 14  The  Yangtze  Valley 

which  frequent  them  it  might  be  supposed  that  no- 
body eats  at  home — the  tobacconists,  and  the  opium 
shops  are  scattered  broadcast  through  the  city,  and 
each  has  its  special  clientele. 

Possibly  there  may  have  originally  been  a plan 
on  which  the  Hankow  streets  were  built,  but  it 
must  have  been  outgrown  for  some  centuries,  and 
at  present  there  is  little  suggestion  of  design ; 
streets  and  alleys  intersect  each  other  in  singular 
confusion,  and  only  a practised  hand  can  find  any 
given  point  without  irksome  and  delaying  tergivers- 
ations. On  the  whole  there  is  a tendency  to  arrive 
at  the  top  of  the  river  bank,  where  at  low  water 
(winter)  a singular  spectacle  presents  itself. 

The  Han,  an  opaque,  yellow,  rapid  flood,  200 
yards  wide,  lies  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  below.  Its 
summer  rises  have  carried  away  its  banks  on  the 
Hankow  side,  and  the  dense  mass  of  ill-looking 
houses  which  formerly  stood,  as  is  the  wont  of 
houses,  on  the  ground,  have  been  undermined,  and 
are  now  propped  up  on  what  it  would  be  flattery  to 
call  piles,  for  they  are  only  slender  and  casual  poles 
lashed  together  till  the  requisite  length  is  gained, 
some  leaning  one  way,  some  another,  while  the 
dwellings  they  upbear  owe  their  continued  exist- 
ence to  their  involuntary  mutual  support,  and  to 
the  pestilent  habit  which  such  ramshackle  buildings 


Chinese  Hankow  (Hankau)  115 

have  everywhere  of  hanging  together.  Thousands 
of  the  poorer  class  of  coolies  live  in  these  precarious 
abodes,  which,  however,  are  less  unsavoury  than 
some,  for  they  have  fresh  air  below  and  innumer- 
able holes  in  the  floors  for  the  easy  disposal  of  re- 
fuse. In  the  summer  of  1898  a great  many  of  these 
dwellings  were  carried  away  with  much  loss  of  life. 

Almost  below  these,  on  the  mud  slope  above  the 
river,  are  hundreds  of  mat  huts,  which  have  to  be 
removed  as  the  water  rises.  These  are  the  misera- 
ble, peripatetic  kennels  of  the  very  lowest  dregs  of 
the  Chinese  humanity  of  a large  city.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  say  how  this  large  population  lives.  Doubt- 
less the  “odd  jobs”  which  support  it  are  mostly 
connected  with  junks,  for  below  each  house  is 
moored  some  rotten  leaky  thing  capable  of  floating, 
to  which  descent  is  made  by  iron  spikes  driven  into 
the  strongest  of  the  piles.  Here  are  the  men  who 
on  these  “ odd  jobs  ” perpetuate  lives  which  are 
not  worth  living — the  beggars,  blind  and  seeing, 
with  malformed  and  loathsome  bodies  ; lepers  with 
gaping  sores  and  fingers  and  toes  dropping  off ; 
the  unsightly  and  unnatural  who  rely  for  their  liv- 
ing on  revolting  the  feelings  of  the  passers-by  ; suf- 
fering women,  old  and  friendless,  who  prefer  the 
free  Boheinianism  of  beggary  to  the  almshouse  or 
refuge  provided  by  Chinese  charity ; and  hosts  of 


n6  The  Yangtze  Valley 

others,  the  pariah  debris  of  Hankow.  These 
wretched  beings  have  one  solace  in  life — the  opium 
pipe — and  they  starve  themselves  to  procure  it. 


Flights  of  stone  stairs,  one  of  them  at  least  of 
magnificent  width  and  appearance,  always  crowded 
with  water  carriers  splashing  the  contents  of  their 
pails,  with  coolies  carrying  burdens,  and  with  pas- 
sengers hurrying  to  and  from  the  ferries,  lead  from 


FEMALE  BEGGAR  IN  MAT  HUT 


Chinese  Hankow  (Hankau)  n 7 

the  bank  to  the  water.  Through  every  opening  in 
the  dilapidations  the  river  traffic  is  seen. 

At  least  three  miles  of  junks 1 and  other  craft  lie 
two,  three,  and  four  deep  (to  quote  Lu  Yew  again), 
“ like  the  teeth  of  a comb,”  of  all  sizes,  colours,  and 
builds,  having  but  two  features  in  common  : a 
prominent  eye  on  each  side  of  the  bows  and  sterns 
considerably  higher  than  the  bows.  Every  mari- 
time province  of  China  is  represented  on  that 
crowded  waterway.  One  could  never  weary  of  the 
spectacle.  It  represents  the  extent,  the  enterprise, 
the  industry,  and  the  conservatism  of  China,  and 
with  an  unrivalled  variety  and  picturesqueness. 

No  junks  interested  me  more  than  the  great  pas- 
sage and  salt  boats,  from  seventy  to  one  hundred 
tons  burden,  with  their  lofty,  many-windowed  sterns 
like  the  galleys  of  Henry  IV.,  their  tall  single  masts 
and  their  big  brown-umber  sails  of  knitted  cane  or 
coarse  canvas  extended  by  an  arrangement  of  bam- 
boo, looking  heavy  enough  to  capsize  a liner,  and 
with  hulls  stained  and  oiled  into  the  similitude  of 
varnished  pine,  as  coming  from  that  Upper  Yangtze 
for  which  I was  bound.  There  were  huge  junks 
from  the  Fukien  province,  bringing  to  me  recollec- 
tions of  Foochow  and  the  Min  River,  piled  high  with 

1 “ There  is  no  harbour  in  the  world  where  one  may  see  so  many  craft  as 
at  Hankow.  Anchored  in  several  rows,  they  reach  for  miles  along  the 
river  banks.” — Consul  Bullock,  The  Geography  of  China. 


nB  The  Yangtze  Valley 

bamboos  and  poles,  and  extended  to  a preposterous 
width  by  masses  of  the  same  lashed  on  both  sides, 
the  buoyancy  of  the  cargo  permitting  as  little  as 
five  inches  of  freeboard,  gaily  painted  and  decorated 
junks  from  Canton,  with  rows  of  carefully  tended 
plants  on  their  high  sterns,  sombre  craft  from 
Tientsin  and  the  north,  junks  from  the  Poyang 
and  Tungting  Lakes,  nondescript  craft  from  inland 
streams  and  canals,  alert  tenders  to  the  big  junks, 
lorchas,  some  of  them  foreign-owned,  doing  homage 
to  Chinese  nautical  experience  by  their  Chinese 
rig,  rafts,  with  their  inhabitants,  sampans  of  all 
sizes,  and  huge  junks  heavily  laden,  crawling  slowly 
down-stream  with  their  great  sweeps,  and  the  wild 
melancholy  wail  of  the  oarsmen — the  Argonauts  of 
Swatow  or  Ningpo. 

People  who  think  it  witty  to  ridicule  everything 
Chinese  poke  fun  at  these  junks  and  their  “ pig- 
tailed,” long-coated  crews,  but  the  handling  of  them 
is  masterly ; in  emergencies  there  is  no  confusion, 
every  man  obeys  orders,  and  the  ease  with  which 
these  apparently  ungainly  craft  tack,  with  their 
complicated  arrangement  of  bamboos  stiffening 
their  vast  sails,  is  absolutely  beautiful. 

The  streets  of  Hankow,  like  those  of  most  of  the 
large  trading  cities,  present  a perpetual  series  of 
dramas.  In  them  hundreds  of  people  eat,  sleep, 


Chinese  Hankow  (Hankau)  119 

bargain,  gamble,  cook,  spin,  and  quarrel,  while 
they  are  the  sculleries,  sinks,  and  sewers  of  a not 
inconsiderable  portion  of  the  population.  They 
are  the  playgrounds  of  the  children,  if  that  be 


A TRAVELLING  RESTAURANT 

called  play  which  consists  merely  in  rolling  and 
tumbling  over  each  other  after  the  manner  of  pup- 
pies* the  elder  among  them  watching  with  greedy 
eyes  the  bargains  of  their  seniors,  eager  cupidity 
and  ofttimes  precocious  depravity  written  on  faces 
which  should  be  young. 


120 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Itinerant  barbers  pursue  their  essential  calling, 
carrying  their  apparatus  on  their  backs,  and  per- 
ambulating the  streets  with  a curious  cry.  Their 
business  is  an  enormous  one  in  China,  where  hair 
is  regarded  as  an  enemy  to  be  battled  with.  Once 
a week  at  least,  the  Chinese,  however  poor,  must 
have  the  front  and  middle  of  his  head  smoothly 
shaved,  or  he  looks  like  a convict,  his  face,  I cannot 
say  his  beard,  and  his  eyebrows,  if  he  has  any, 
trimmed,  when  he  emerges  from  the  barber’s  hands 
a respectable  member  of  the  community.  All  these 
operations  are  conducted  publicly  under  the  eaves 
and  gateways  and  at  the  street  corners,  with  much 
shampooing  and  dexterous  manipulation  of  oddly 
shaped  razors,  which  scrape  rather  than  cut,  the 
face  of  the  client  nevertheless  wearing  a look  of 
serene  contentment.  The  fees  of  the  barber  are  an 
important  item  in  the  expenditure  of  a Chinese 
coolie. 

Many  other  industries  are  carried  on  in  the 
streets,  and  the  Government  is  lenient  to  all  en- 
croachments, so  long  as  a mandarin’s  chair  and 
retinue  can  pass  unhindered.  Government  is  repre- 
sented in  this  congeries  of  cities  by  yamens , with 
picturesque  curved  roofs,  and  gateways  with  a cer- 
tain stateliness,  and  courtyards  usually  filled  with 
petitioners  and  their  agents,  prisoners  awaiting  trial, 


Chinese  Hankow  (Hankau)  12 1 

yamen  runners,  who,  from  three  to  six  hundred  or 
more  in  number,  hang  about  official  residences ; 
while  clerks  and  writers  carrying  papers  and  dressed 
in  expensive  brocaded  silks  move  haughtily  among 
the  common  herd.  The  inner  court  is  concealed 
by  a plastered  brick  screen,  on  which  is  emblazoned 
in  brilliant  colouring  a bold  representation  of  the 
dragon  of  the  Dragon  Empire. 

Government  in  its  military  aspect  is  made  ap- 
parent by  a number  of  soldiers,  usually  in  pictur- 
esque but  stagey  and  unserviceable  uniforms,  in 
which  blue  and  carnation-red  predominate,  who  are 
encountered  in  the  streets  hanging  round  opium  or 
tobacco  shops,  or  gambling  for  cash , or  attached 
slightly  to  some  procession,  or  lounging  at  the  city 
gates,  or  swaggering  at  the  great  entrance  to  the 
yamen , under  the  curse  of  abounding  leisure. 
Their  somewhat  mediaeval  military  equipments  are 
supplemented  with  additions  laughably  grotesque, 
long  fans  attached  to  their  girdles,  and  big  pa- 
per umbrellas,  occasionally  gaudily  decorated  with 
mythical  monsters,  but  oftener  with  proverbs  or 
Confucian  maxims. 

Hurry,  crowds,  business,  the  absence  of  the 
feminine  element,  and  noise,  are  common  to  all 
Chinese  cities.  Drums  and  gongs  are  beaten, 
cymbals  are  clashed,  bells  ring,  muskets  are  fired, 


122 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

crackers  are  exploded  everywhere,  beggars  wail, 
there  are  street  cries  innumerable,  the  din  of  bar- 
gaining tongues  rises  high,  and  the  air  is  full  of  the 
discordant  roar  of  a multitude. 

In  the  centre  of  such  surroundings,  within  hear- 
ing of  the  ceaseless  din,  and  within  smelling  of  the 
foul  and  ancient  odour  which  pervades  the  city,  the 
colony  of  English  Wesleyan  missionaries  has  placed 
itself  in  close  contact  with  its  medical  missionary 
hospitals  and  dispensaries  for  men  and  women,  its 
home  and  school  for  the  blind,  and  its  other  mis- 
sionary agencies,  and  not  far  off  in  a Chinese  house, 
and  living  and  dressing  as  a native,  was  one  of  the 
noblest  and  most  sympathetic  missionaries  who  ever 
sought  the  welfare  of  the  Chinese,  the  Rev.  David 
Hill,  who  died  of  typhus  fever  shortly  after  my  first 
visit,  genuinely  mourned  by  those  for  whom  he 
had  sacrificed  himself. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
HANKOW  TO  ICHANG 

I LEFT  Hankow,  without  seeing  a gleam  of  sun- 
shine upon  it,  by  the  deck-over-deck,  American- 
built,  stern-wheel  steamer  Chang-wo.  She  had  some 
hundreds  of  Chinese  and  two  China  Inland  mis- 
sionaries on  board  below,  and  her  very  limited 
saloon  accommodation  was  taken  up  by  four  Cana- 
dian missionaries  returning  to  Sze  Chuan,  and  the 
inevitable  baby.  They  had  lied  nearly  a year  be- 
fore, after  the  destruction  of  their  houses  in  the 
riots.  I was  greatly  indebted  to  two  of  them.  I 
had  a cabin  directly  over  the  boiler.  The  floor 
was  very  hot,  and  even  with  the  window  open  I 
could  not  get  the  temperature  below  740,  and  they 
gave  me  their  cool  room  in  exchange. 

The  captain  was  kind  and  genial.  He  let  me 
tone  unlimited  photographic  prints  in  the  saloon, 
ignoring  the  dishes  and  buckets  involved  in  the 
process,  and  the  engineer  provided  an  unlimited 
supply  of  condensed  water,  free  both  from  Yangtze 


123 


124 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

mud  and  from  the  alum  used  to  precipitate  it.  But 
he  had  a unique  affluence  of  bad  language,  which 
neither  the  presence  of  clergy  nor  women  sufficed 
to  check,  and  which  was  brought  out  with  slow, 
thrilling,  and  emphatically  damnatory  delibera- 
tion on  the  many  occasions  on  which  we  ran  on 
shoals. 

I had  abundant  occupation  in  writing,  printing 
and  toning  photographs,  learning  a little  from  Mr. 
Endacott  of  the  region  for  which  I was  finally 
bound,  taking  walks  below  past  the  Chinese  cabins, 
where  the  inmates  were  reclining  in  the  bliss  of 
opium  smoking,  the  faint,  sickly  smell  of  the  drug 
drifting  out  at  the  open  doors,  or  on  the  upper 
deck  to  watch  the  fleets  of  strange  junks  through 
which  the  Chang-wo  steamed,  howling  and  bellow- 
ing. Lumbering,  unhandy  craft  they  look,  but 
they  are  handled  with  consummate  skill. 

The  Great  River  was  at  its  lowest  winter  level, 
and  its  shores,  so  far  as  one  could  see  them  under 
these  circumstances,  were  most  monotonous,  and 
then  it  was  mid-winter.  We  steamed  for  hours  be- 
tween high,  grey  mud-banks,  ceaselessly  eaten 
away  by  the  rush  of  the  current,  gaining  little  be- 
yond an  idea  of  the  vastness  of  the  level  country, 
the  depth  of  the  grey  alluvium,  and  the  extent  of 
the  commerce  of  which  the  Yangtze  is  the  highway. 


125 


Hankow  to  Ichang 

To  get  deep  water  we  were  often  close  under 
the  right  bank,  and  had  the  divertissement  of  being 
pelted  with  mud  and  with  such  names  as  “ foreign 
devils”  and  “foreign  dogs,”  an  amusement  which 
one  would  have  supposed  would  have  palled  upon 
the  peasants  in  the  years  during  which  these 
steamers  have  been  running. 

Our  progress  was  not  rapid,  owing  to  shoals  and 
changes  in  the  channel,  and  the  Ckang-wo  anchored 
at  night.  Then,  during  the  day,  there  was  the  fre- 
quent grinding  sound  of  running  on  gravel,  or  the 
thud  of  touching  a bank,  or  the  buzz  of  a whirlpool 
created  by  ourselves  in  steering  clear  of  a junk. 
All  day  long  resounded  the  melancholy  note  of  the 
Chinese  leadsman  calling  out  the  soundings,  varied 
by  the  sharp  “ Hard  a-port  ! ” or  “ Hard  a-star- 
board ! ” of  a European  officer  as  some  peril  pre- 
sented itself,  or  the  low  and  terrible  maledictions 
of  the  captain  on  all  and  sundry,  as  far  back  as  the 
builders  of  the  ship.  The  grounding  was  exasper- 
ating, losing  us  two  hours  at  times.  Quick  as 
thought  at  every  touch  on  shoal  or  mud-bank  down 
clattered  the  anchor,  and  various  skilled  operations 
followed,  which  invariably  resulted  successfully,  but 
at  one  time  the  navigation  was  so  intricate,  and  the 
water  shoaled  for  such  a long  distance,  that,  after 
getting  off  a bank  after  two  hours’  tedious  work, 


126  The  Yangtze  Valley 

the  steam  launch  was  lowered  to  sound  ahead,  and 
direct  us  by  signal  flags. 

Still  it  was  hard  to  get  up  any  excitement  over 
these  mishaps,  even  though  the  captain  enlarged 
on  the  risk  of  losing  the  wheel  or  the  rudder.  Very 
little  diversified  the  monotony  of  the  winter  voy- 
age, but  when  I returned  in  summer,  and  could 
look  over  the  banks,  a vast  population  and  innu- 
merable industries  were  to  be  seen. 

Yo-chow,  a fortified  monastery  on  a high  prom- 
ontory, once  a place  of  considerable  domination, 
and  Yo-chow  Fu,  a large  city  near  the  junction  of 
the  Tungting  Lake  with  the  Yangtze,  are  the  chief 
features  of  the  featurelessness.  This  lake,  a vast 
but  imperfectly  known  sheet  of  water,  surrounded 
by  towns  and  villages,  is  of  very  great  importance 
to  the  trade  of  the  rich  Hunan  province. 

The  farther  route  lies  among  embanked  water- 
courses, great  flats  of  muddy  land  receiving  alluvial 
accretions  from  each  summer’s  floods,  and  shallow 
meres  with  a wealth  of  wild  fowl  I never  saw 
equalled,  and  abounding  in  fish,  both  fish  and  fowl 
being  snared  in  great  numbers  by  the  nearly  am- 
phibious inhabitants,  by  many  ingenious  devices 
born  of  Chinese  poverty. 

Among  the  many  varieties  of  boats  are  pairs  of 
large  sampans,  lashed  together,  and  at  once  kept 


127 


Hankow  to  Ichang 

apart  and  connected  by  platforms,  on  which  reeds 
are  piled  to  the  height  of  a haystack,  the  lowest 
part  of  the  centre  of  the  load  being  recessed  and 
shored  up  for  a sleeping  and  cooking  place.  These 
reeds,  which  are  a speciality  of  the  Yangtze  for 
900  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  attain  a height  of 
fifteen  feet  and  over,  are  as  invaluable  to  the  peo- 
ple of  this  region  as  are  the  vast  reed  beds  of  the 
Liao  to  those  of  Southern  Manchuria,  furnishing 
them  with  building,  roofing,  and  fencing  material, 
as  well  as  with  fuel.  Quite  a large  part  of  the  in- 
ternal freighting  business  of  this  low-lying  level  is 
the  transport  of  these  reeds  on  sledges  over  the 
marshy  ground,  on  four-wheeled  wooden  trucks, 
which  might  be  called  “ trollies  ” if  they  had  rails 
to  run  on,  some  dragged  by  men,  and  others  by 
the  quaint,  appropriate  water  buffalo,  as  well  as 
loaded  on  coupled  boats. 

In  the  late  afternoon  of  the  third  day  from  Han- 
kow we  anchored  in  the  rushing  mid-stream  of  the 
Yangtze,  abreast  of  the  treaty  port  of  Sha-shih 
(Sand  Market),  opened  by  the  treaty  of  Shimo- 
noseki  in  1895,  and,  as  was  fitting,  first  occupied 
by  the  Japanese.  I was  not  prepossessed  with  the 
city  either  on  the  upward  or  downward  journey. 
Communication  with  the  shore  is  tedious,  difficult, 
and  not  free  from  risk.  Several  of  the  boats  which 


128 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

attempted  to  reach  us  were  unable  to  “catch  on,” 
and  even  a lighter,  failing  to  make  fast,  was  carried 
far  astern  and  did  not  work  her  way  back  till  the 
next  morning. 

At  low  water  Wan-cheng  Ti,  the  great  dyke, 
averaging  150  feet  in  width  at  the  bottom,  and 
twenty-five  at  the  top,  twenty  feet  high  on  the 
river  side,  and  forty  on  the  land  side,  which  fol- 
lows the  Yangtze  for  twenty-five  miles  to  the  west 
of  Sha-shih  and  thirty  to  the  east,  effectually  con- 
ceals the  town  from  view,  only  a seven-storeyed 
pagoda  and  the  curved  roofs  of  temples  and 
yamens  appearing  above  the  heads  of  the  crowds 
which  throng  the  roadway  on  the  dyke-top. 

China  must  have  been  a greater  country  when 
this  great  public  work  was  constructed  than  she  is 
now,  for  this  dyke  where  it  protects  Sha-shih  is  a 
noble,  three-tiered,  stone-faced  construction,  on  the 
top  of  which  are  remnants  of  a stone  balustrade  ; 
and  broad,  stately  flights  of  stairs  are  let  into  the 
stonework  at  intervals,  each  tier  of  stairs  being 
about  twelve  feet  high.  It  must  have  been  fully 
as  impressive  as  the  superb  walls  on  the  Chia-ling 
at  Paoning  Fu,  which  still  remain  a thing  of 
grandeur  and  beauty. 

Sha-shih  is  pre-eminently  and  abominably  dirty  ; 
and  on  this  fine  embankment  dirt  is  in  the  ascendant, 


Hankow  to  Ichang  129 

and  dirt  and  bad  smells  assail  the  traveller  on 
landing.  Much  of  the  refuse  of  the  crowded 
city  at  the  back  is  thrown  over  the  river-wall,  ac- 
cumulating in  heaps  which  at  low  water  conceal 
half  of  it.  Steep  steps  lead  up  these  vile  mounds, 
and  appear  to  be  preferred  to  the  stone  stairs 
covered  with  slippery,  black  ooze.  Below  the 
heaps  lie  from  one  to  two  thousand  junks  with 
crews  on  an  average  of  ten  men  each,  and  fre- 
quently the  junkman’s  wife  and  family  in  addition, 
giving  an  average  floating  population  of  10,000. 

Beggars’  huts  encroach  on  the  top  of  the  em- 
bankment ; and  when  I write  that  hosts  of  gaunt, 
sore-eyed,  mangy  dogs,  and  black  pigs  each  with  a 
row  of  bristles  standing  up  along  his  lean,  curved 
back,  and  beggars,  one  mass  of  dirt  and  sores,  are 
always  routing  and  delving  in  the  heaps,  the  reader 
will  not  be  surprised  that  I did  not  find  Sha-shih 
prepossessing.  It  has  always  had  the  reputation 
of  being  hostile  to  foreigners,  which  hostility  ex- 
pressed itself  unpleasantly  in  a riot  in  May,  1898, 
when  the  China  merchant’s,  S.  N.  Co.’s,  premises 
ashore  and  afloat,  the  new  buildings  of  the  Im- 
perial Customs,  and  the  Japanese  Consulate  were 
destroyed.  The  three  steamship  agencies  in  1898 
practically  withdrew  their  agencies  from  the  port, 
the  British  Consulate  was  withdrawn,  Japan  has 


VOL.  I.— 9 


130 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


taken  no  steps  towards  occupying  her  concession, 
foreign  trade  and  passenger  traffic  have  fallen  off 
materially,  and  so  far  the  port  must  be  pronounced 
a failure. 

A noisy  and  dirty  rabble  follows  a stranger ; 
mud  is  thrown — and,  as  is  the  fashion  of  mud, 
some  of  it  sticks — bad  names  are  bandied  about 
freely  ; the  foreigner  is  conscious  of  a ferment 
which  may  or  may  not  result  in  more  active  annoy- 
ance, and,  after  being  nearly  suffocated  by  the  ill- 
mannered  and  malodorous  crowd  in  a fruitless 
attempt  to  see  the  lions  of  the  city,  he  retreats 
not  reluctantly  to  his  steamer,  which,  in  my  case, 
was  detained  by  heavy  fog  until  noon  of  the  next 
day. 

But  Sha-shih,  though  unprepossessing  and  un- 
likely to  fulfil  the  expectations  formed  of  it  as  a 
treaty  port,  is  one  of  the  most  important  cities  on 
the  Yangtze  ; nor  is  its  importance  a thing  of  yester- 
day. Two  miles  above  it  lies  the  Fu,  or  prefecture, 
of  Ching-chou,  of  which  it  may  be  regarded  as  the 
trading  suburb.  All  around  are  the  remains  of 
fortresses  and  cities,  mounds,  earthworks,  and  look- 
out terraces,  ancient  in  the  days  when  our  fathers 
were  painted  savages,  marking  the  sites  of  the 
strongholds  and  capital  of  the  powerful  kings  of 
Ch’u  in  the  early  days  of  Chinese  authentic  history. 


provincial  capital,  is  of  such  importance  that  it  has 
a Manchu  garrison  of  12,000  men  (?),  the  largest 
Manchu  force  south  of  Peking,  the  Manchu  military 
colony  numbering  40,000  souls.  The  whole  organ- 
isation of  this  colony  is  military,  and  it  is  kept 


Hankow  to  Ichang  :3 1 

Ching-chou  Fu  is  grandly  fortified,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  a wide  canal  of  great  depth.  It  is  the 
seat  of  a taotai,  or  intendant  of  a circuit,  which  in- 
cludes Ichang,  eighty  miles  off,  and  though  not  a 


CHINESE  SOLDIERS 
{From,  a Chinese  Drawing) 


i32 


The  Yangtze  Valley- 

separate  from  the  civil  population.  Otherwise  it 
has  no  interest,  except  that  the  women  have  un- 
bound feet  and  wear  long  outer  dresses,  and  that 
the  men  look  lazy  and  demoralised.  Besides  this 
large  garrison  there  are  river  and  lake  police,  and  a 
small  body  of  militia  under  the  command  of  a pro- 
vincial general,  and  a thousand  Hunan  “braves” 
trained  in  the  rudiments  of  drill  under  a brigade- 
general.  “ Braves  ” are  fighting  mobile  troops, 
whose  superior  qualities  command  superior  pay. 
They  receive  four  or  five  taels  a month,  while  the 
common  provincial  soldier  only  gets  one  tael,  fifty 
cents.  Now,  as  formerly,  Ching-chou  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  important  strategical  positions 
in  China. 

It  has  an  estimated  Chinese  and  Manchu  popu- 
lation of  100,000,  and  Sha-shih  an  estimated  popu- 
lation of  80,000,  a temporary  one  averaging  8000, 
and  a boating  one  (as  mentioned  before)  of,  at  the 
very  least,  10,000,  nearly  200,000  in  all.  The 
distance  to  Ichang  is  80  miles  by  land  and  100  by 
water.  To  Hankow,  with  which  the  great  trade  of 
Sha-shih  is  done,  it  is  300  miles  by  water,  and  would 
be  135  by  land,  if  there  were  land!  No  land 
carriage  is  possible,  except  in  seasons  of  drought, 
much  of  that  which  poses  as  terra  firma  on  the 
maps  being  meres,  relapsed  agricultural  lands. 


133 


ninth  century  seven-storeyed  pagoda,  with  eight 
faces,  each  face  recessed  on  each  storey,  and  con- 
taining a stone  image  of  Buddha,  and  a dark  and 
foul  staircase,  leading  to  a remarkable  view  from 
the  top,  and  the  imposing  halls  of  the  trade  guilds 


Hankow  to  Ichang 

morasses,  shallow  lakes,  fens,  watercourses,  and 
reed  swamps,  most  productive  wherever  areas  are 
drained  and  embanked. 

Among  the  interesting  features  of  Sha-shih  are  a 


MILITARY  OFFICER 

C From  a Chinese  Drawing ) 


134 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

of  which  I failed  to  see  the  superb  interiors,  owing 
to  the  clamour  and  pressure  of  the  rabble.  In 
Sha-shih,  as  everywhere  else,  these  guildhalls  serve 
the  purposes  of  banqueting  halls,  temples,  and  even 
theatres  at  times.  They  number  thirteen,  named 
from  the  provinces  or  cities  of  which  their  members 
are  natives,  and  each  has  its  patron  deity.  There  are 
several  charitable  institutions,  including  two  orphan- 
ages, one  of  which  receives  220  orphans  annually, 
and  boards  them  out  until  the  age  of  sixteen. 

Benevolence  was  considerably  strained  in  the 
winter  of  1896-97,  when  thousands  of  refugees 
flying  from  famine  in  Sze  Chuan  received  un- 
wholesome and  insanitary  shelter  in  mat  sheds 
outside  Sha-shih,  where  a terrible  and  uninvestigated 
epidemic  broke  out,  and  was  carried  into  the  city 
and  neighbourhood,  so  that  during  the  spring  and 
summer  it  was  estimated  that  17,000  perished  in  the 
city  only.  Nearly  all  the  refugees,  after  being 
kept  alive  chiefly  by  the  charitable,  died,  and  were 
decently  buried  by  those  societies  which  in  every 
Chinese  city  undertake  this  sacred  duty  for  the 
bodies  of  strangers,  and  for  those  of  the  very  poor. 
I am  always  glad  to  call  attention  to  Chinese 
charities,  for  the  continual  reiteration  of  facts  on 
the  other  side  only  tends  to  produce  an  unfair  and 
one-sided  impression  of  the  Chinese  character. 


i35 


Hankow  to  Ichang 

Superstition  had  its  say  regarding  this  baleful 
epidemic,  which  unfortunately  never  came  under 
skilled  observation.  It  was  attributed  to  a malig- 
nant black  bird,  of  vast  size,  which  was  said  to  hover 
over  the  city.  It  had  ten  heads,  but  one  had  been 
cut  off,  and  the  severed  neck  bled  profusely  and 
continuously,  and  wherever  the  blood  fell  disease 
and  death  followed.  A day  was  set  apart  for  the 
propitiation  of  this  malignant  fowl,  and  fire-crackers 
were  burned  before  the  door  of  every  house.1 

The  fish  market  is  an  excellent,  though  an  un- 
cleanly one,  nets,  angling,  cormorants,  lines  with 
hooks,  and  great  frame  nets  lowered  and  raised  by 
pulleys,  all  being  employed.  Sturgeon,  weighing 
from  500  to  700  pounds,  are  caught  off  the  port. 
There  are  no  unusual  articles  of  diet  to  be  seen, 
except  Japanese  seaweed,  which  is  largely  consumed 
in  the  belief  that  it  counteracts  the  bad  effects  of 
the  sulphur  fumes  proceeding  from  coal  fires  ! 

The  Roman  Catholics  and  three  Protestant  mis- 
sions hold  property  in  the  town,  but  mission-work 
has  to  be  conducted  very  cautiously,  owing  to  the 
strongly  anti-foreign  feeling.  There  are  seventeen 
foreigners,  including  the  Japanese  Consul,  but  not 
one  foreign  merchant,  though  two  or  three  foreign 
firms  have  agencies. 


1 Foreign  Office  Report  No.  2086,  May,  1898. 


1 36 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Foreign  articles,  few  of  which  find  any  place  in 
the  customs  returns,  are  to  be  bought  in  the  shops. 
Very  many  of  them  are  Japanese,  owing  to  the 
energy,  or,  as  our  merchants  call  it,  the  peddling 


and  huckstering  instincts  of  the  Japanese  traders, 
who  through  their  trained  Chinese-speaking  agents 
find  out  what  the  people  want  and  supply  it  to 
them.  The  cotton  gins  largely  used  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood are  of  Japanese  make,  and  cheap  clocks, 


Hankow  to  Ichang 


i37 


kerosene  lamps,  towels,  handkerchiefs,  cotton  um- 
brellas, cheap  hardware,  soaps,  fancy  articles  of  all 
descriptions,  and  cotton  goods  are  poured  into 
Sha-shih  by  that  alert  empire.  Among  English 
goods  are  rugs,  blankets,  and  preserves  and  tinned 
milk  and  fruits.  Most  of  the  dealers  in  “ assorted 
notions  ” are  Cantonese. 

Cotton  cloth,  raw  cotton,  silk  fabrics,  and  hides 
are  the  staple  exports  of  Sha-shih.  There  are  few 
local  industries  besides  the  weaving  of  cotton. 
Pewter,  “ hubble  bubbles,”  household  pewter  ware, 
long  bamboo  pipes,  not  fashionable  “ down  the 
river,”  coarse  silk  twist  for  plaiting  into  the  ends  of 
queues,  boiling  salt  out  of  old  salt  bags,  a smoky 
and  smelly  process  carried  on  owing  to  the  mon- 
strous price  of  Government  salt,  brick-  and  tile-mak- 
ing, and  furniture -making,  specially  of  carved  and 
gilded  bedsteads  and  cabinets,  showy  but  some- 
what trashy,  I think  exhaust  the  list.  The  annual 
export  of  raw  cotton  is  estimated  at  9,000,000 
pounds.  Enormous  quantities  of  it  arrive  to  be 
woven  at  Sha-shih  into  a strong,  durable,  white 
cloth,  fifteen  and  twelve  inches  wide,  which  I 
saw  all  over  Sze  Chuan,  and  of  which  at  least 
20,000,000  pounds  are  annually  exported.  Sam- 
ples of  this  make  and  of  English  cottons  were  fre- 
quently shown  to  me  by  the  women  in  Sze  Chuan 


138  The  Yangtze  Valley 

villages,  with  a scornful  laugh  at  the  expense  of  the 
latter. 

Sha-shih  is  called  “ The  Manchester  of  China.” 
In  it  this  comparatively  indestructible  cloth  is 
graded,  packed,  and  shipped  away,  the  adjacent 
country  being  the  greatest  centre  of  weaving  in  the 
empire.  There  are  no  dealers  in  raw  cotton  in 
the  city,  and  114  shops  deal  in  native  cotton  cloth, 
and  there  is  a daily  market  for  its  sale  in  the  early 
mornings.  Silks,  both  plain  and  figured,  are  also 
produced  in  great  quantities,  and  satin  bed-covers, 
which  are  used  all  over  China.  Rich  satins  are 
also  woven  for  altar  cloths,  bed  and  door  hangings, 
and  cushions. 

Sha-shih  was  the  first  point  on  my  journey  at 
which  I encountered  the  money  difficulties  which 
press  so  severely  on  the  traveller  in  China.  My 
broken  silver  was  of  little  use,  and  my  dollars  of 
none,  copper  cash  and  cash  notes  forming  the  entire 
currency  of  the  port.  The  merchants  and  shop- 
keepers calculate  silver  in  Sha-shih  taels,  which 
vary  from  6 to  1 1 per  cent,  from  the  standard 
Haikwan,  Hankow,  and  Shanghai  taels,  and  the 
exchange  between  cash  and  silver  varies  daily. 
There  are  about  130  cash  shops  in  the  town,  nearly 
all  of  them  issuing  notes.  Notes  for  1000  cash 
abound,  mostly  issued  by  small  Manchu  shops  in 


139 


Hankow  to  Ichang 

Ching-chou,  for  which  change  can  hardly  be  obtained 
in  Ching-chou  itself.  The  cash  shops  issue  notes 
for  1000,  5000,  and  10,000  cash , but  though  those 
issued  by  the  banks  and  pawnshops  are  current  for 
thirty  miles  round,  they  are  worthless  at  Ichang,  as 
I found  to  my  inconvenience.  Each  hundred  cash 
being  strung  separately  on  a wisp  of  straw  or  paper, 
and  every  string  having  to  be  counted  over  and 
examined  for  small  or  spurious  cash , the  purchase 
of  10,000  or  about  23s.  3 d.,  is  a weighty  matter  in 
various  senses,  and  is  apt  to  take  from  two  to  three 
hours,  including  the  time  spent  in  bargaining  about 
“the  touch  ” of  sycee  silver  procured  at  Hankow. 

I have  dwelt  so  long,  albeit  so  superficially,  on 
Sha-shih  because  it  is  the  most  important  of  the 
treaty  ports  opened  since  the  war,  and  because 
nothing  is  known  of  it  by  the  general  reader.  Cer- 
tainly the  couleur  de  rose  expectations  of  an  out- 
burst of  foreign  trade  have  not  been  realised,  nor, 
I think,  are  likely  to  be,  unless  the  methods  of  com- 
merce on  the  Yangtze  undergo  a radical  change. 
The  total  trade  for  1898  was  only  ^24,444  in  value, 
against  ,£47,509  in  1897,  but  these  figures  only 
apply  to  the  exports  and  imports  passing  through 
the  Imperial  Maritime  Customs.  For  Sha-shih  has 
not  only  one,  but  several,  “ back  doors  ” through 
which  her  enormous  commerce  is  poured,  the 


140 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

principal  one  being  a canal  to  Hankow,  called  at  its 
western  end  the  Pien-Ho,  and  which  is  not  only 
free  from  the  risks  of  the  river,  but  is  from  sixty 
to  seventy  miles  shorter.  Altogether  several  routes 
to  Hankow  are  practicable,  either  wholly  by  canal 
and  lake,  or  partly  by  road  and  partly  by  canal,  the 
water  route  being  available  during  the  whole  year. 

The  Chinese  are  rigid  conservatives.  Junks  are 
always  obtainable,  and  wait  the  convenience  of 
their  hirers,  and  their  freight  and  passenger  charges 
are  much  lower  than  those  of  the  steamers.  Cer- 
tainly if  I had  not  been  hurried  I should  have  pre- 
ferred a junk  ! The  canals  pass  through  towns 
which  offer  facilities  for  both  trading  and  dawdling, 
so  that,  although  there  are  two  likin  stations  on 
the  canal  route  to  Hankow,  the  native  trader  finds 
that  the  junk  has  many  advantages  over  the  steamer. 
Likin  is  charged  on  all  goods  landed  at  Sha-shih, 
and  the  Imperial  Customs  duty  is,  in  fact,  only  an 
additional  tax  levied  on  goods  conveyed  by  steamer. 
These  inland  routes  are  of  the  greatest  commercial 
importance. 

Besides  the  canal  and  lake  routes  to  Hankow, 
the  great  delta  between  the  Yangtze  and  the  Han 
is  spotted  with  lakes  connected  by  waterways,  and 
in  other  directions  there  are  available  roads  con- 
necting Sha-shih  with  important  trading  cities. 


Hankow  to  Ichang  14 1 

Among  these  are  the  great  southern  highway  from 
Sze  Chuan,  and  the  great  north  road  leading  by 
the  Han  and  over  the  mountains  to  the  capital  of 
Shensi,  from  which  mule  carts  and  mule  litters, 
conveyances  hardly  known  in  Central  China,  de- 
scend into  the  Yangtze  plain. 

All  that  region  lies  below  the  summer  level  of  its 
rivers,  and  it  is  a problem  on  which  no  light  is  likely 
to  be  shed  why  a country  so  oddly  circumstanced 
should  have  become  a populous  and  powerful  king- 
dom at  a very  early  date,  and  why  its  chief  city  has 
continued  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  of  mili- 
tary positions  and  of  commercial  centres  in  the 
Chinese  Empire. 

Returning  to  the  river  voyage,  after  passing 
Yungtze,  the  western  mountains  appeared  for  the 
first  time.  The  scenery  changed  rapidly.  The 
river  narrowed  ; some  of  its  promontories  were 
boulder-strewn  ; low,  wooded  knolls  appeared  above 
a pleasant  agricultural  country,  green  with  young 
wheat ; and  hills  of  conglomerate  and  limestone 
replaced  the  grey  alluvium  through  which  we  had 
been  steaming  for  nearly  1000  miles.  Although 
much  detained  by  fogs,  we  reached  the  Tiger 
Teeth  Gorge,  ten  miles  below  Ichang,  in  the  early 
afternoon  of  the  fifth  day  from  Hankow.  This 
gorge,  which  hardly  deserves  so  thrilling  a name. 


142 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

is  a channel  two  miles  long  and  about  700  yards 
wide,  in  the  easternmost  of  those  ranges  through 
which  the  Yangtze  has  forced  itself  on  its  way  to 
create  the  Great  Plain.  This  range,  rising  to  a 
height  of  2600  feet,  is  broken  up  into  peaks,  one  of 
which  is  crowned  by  an  inaccessible-looking  Bud- 
dhist monastery,  this  building,  a fine  pagoda,  and 
great  masses  of  conglomerate  being  the  only  note- 
worthy features  until  we  reached  I chang  in  the 
glorifying  light  of  a late  afternoon  sun. 


CHAPTER  IX 

ICHANG 

NLIKE  Sha-shih,  the  first  view  of  I chang, 


LJ  opened  to  foreign  trade  in  1887,  is  very 
attractive.  At  low  water  it  stands  high  on  the 
river  bank,  on  a conglomerate  cliff  above  a great 
level  sandbank,  but  in  summer  it  loses  whatever 
dignity  it  gains  by  height,  and  is  nearly  on  the 
river  level.  A walled  city  of  35,000  people,  gate 
towers  and  temple  roofs  rise  above  the  battlements 
and  the  mass  of  houses.  Between  the  city  and  the 
river  is  a straggling  suburb,  fairly  clean,  composed 
of  small  retail  shops.  On  the  river  bank  are  the 
buildings  and  godowns  of  the  Imperial  Customs,  in- 
cluding the  Commissioner’s  house  and  large  garden, 
dainty  dwellings  for  the  staff  of  twelve  Europeans, 
and  a tennis  ground,  with  a fine  bund  and  broad 
flight  of  stone  stairs  in  front.  Near  these  are  the 
large  houses  of  the  Scotch  Church  Mission,  and 
beyond  a new  plain  building  put  up  by  the  China 
Inland  Mission.  The  Roman  Catholic  buildings 


143 


144  The  Yangtze  Valley 

are  the  first  to  attract  attention  from  the  water. 
There  are  a few  foreign  hongs  and  godowns,  and  a 
customs  pontoon  moored  in  the  steam.  Behind 
the  British  Consulate,  a substantial  new  building 
with  a tennis  lawn  used  for  weekly  hospitalities, 
breezy  hills,  much  covered  with  grave  mounds,  roll 
up  towards  a mountainous  region,  and  below,  the 
Yangtze,  with  its  perpetual  rush  and  current,  swirls 
in  a superb  flood  half  a mile  wide. 

At  the  time  of  my  first  visit  a British  gunboat,  a 
wholesome  and  not  unneeded  influence,  lay  at 
anchor  opposite  the  town. 

The  imposing  feature  of  Ichang  to  my  thinking 
is  its  multitude  of  junks  of  every  build  and  size, 
lying  closely  packed  along  its  shore  for  a mile  and  a 
half,  their  high  castellated  stems  making  a goodly 
show.  There  lay  in  hundreds  big  Sze  Chuan 
junks,  strongly  built  for  the  rapids,  their  stained 
and  oiled  woodwork  looking  like  varnished  pine,  the 
junks  bound  up  the  river  with  their  masts  erect,  the 
masts  of  those  which  had  come  down  lashed  along 
their  sides.  Big  passenger  boats  there  were  too, 
for  all  passengers,  as  well  as  cargo,  bound  up  the 
Yangtze  must  “change”  at  Ichang. 

On  the  opposite  side  are  cliffs  along  the  river 
front,  backed  by  hills  and  fine  mountains,  among 
which  are  fantastic  peaks  and  pyramids,  one  of 


THE  TABLET  OF  CONFUCIUS 


VOL.  1.— l 


145 


H6  The  Yangtze  Valley 

them  known  as  Pyramid  Hill,  exactly  resembling 
the  Great  Pyramid  in  shape,  and  said  to  have  the 
same  height  and  area  as  its  prototype.  Its  peculiar 
position  and  form  were  supposed  or  believed  by  the 
local  geomancers  to  interfere  with  that  mystery  of 
mysteries  the  Fung  Shui,  and  thus  to  act  injuriously 
on  the  prosperity  of  Ichang,  so  the  powers  that 
were,  it  is  said,  built  a monastery  opposite,  on  the 
Ichang  side  of  the  river,  at  great  expense,  the 
priests  of  which  have  as  their  special  business  to 
pray  that  the  disastrous  influences  of  Pyramid  Hill 
may  be  warded  off  from  the  city. 

The  dead  who  people  the  hillsides  far  outnumber 
the  living,  and  their  abodes,  having  the  aspect  of 
exaggerated  mole-hills,  lack  the  frequent  stateliness 
of  Chinese  places  of  interment  in  some  of  the  other 
provinces,  being  mostly  circular  mounds  of  earth 
and  sod  kept  together  by  stones  rudely  built  into 
them. 

Just  before  I arrived  many  of  these  stones  had 
served  a sinister  purpose,  and  had  been  used  as  am- 
munition. On  entering  the  house  of  Mr.  Schjoltz, 
the  Commissioner  of  Customs,  who  was  my  host  at 
Ichang  and  later  at  Chungking,  I was  surprised  to 
see  cairns  of  stones  which  were  nearly  as  big  as  a 
human  head  both  in  the  hall  and  outside  it,  which 
had  been  collected  in  the  dining  and  drawing-rooms 


Ichang  H7 

after  their  windows  had  been  smashed  in  an  anti- 
foreign  riot  a few  days  before.  During  some 
festivities  the  Chinese  cook  of  the  gunboat  Esk 
accidentally  shot  a very  popular  Chinese  officer. 
On  this  there  was  naturally  a great  ebullition  of 
fury,  especially  as  the  cook  was  not  given  up  to 
the  Chinese  authorities  when  they  demanded  him. 
The  Customs  buildings  were  guarded  by  Chinese 
soldiers,  but  the  staff,  who  are  all  efficiently  drilled, 
did  sentry  duty  at  night.  This  was  the  least  serious 
of  the  many  riots  which  have  occurred  in  the  treaty 
ports  on  the  Yangtze  in  recent  years. 

There  are  now  about  forty-five  foreigners  in 
Ichang,  about  twenty  of  them  being  missionaries. 
It  is  to  be  supposed  that  all  of  these  have  a suffi- 
ciency of  serious  occupation.  Their  amusements 
consist  chiefly  in  tennis,  shooting,  and  boating  pic- 
nics to  some  of  the  picturesque  ravines  and  rock 
temples  off  the  main  river,  and  to  the  Ichang 
Gorge.  The  British  Consul,  Mr.  Holland,  and  Mr. 
Woodruff,  the  Commissioner  of  Customs,  throw 
their  spacious  gardens  open  constantly,  and  by  the 
exercise  of  much  hospitality  do  their  best  to  alleviate 
what,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  the  great  monotony 
of  life  in  a small  and  isolated  foreign  community. 

Unless  people  are  students  or  specialists  or  hob- 
byists of  some  description,  as  I think  every  man 


148 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  woman  should  be  who  goes  to  live  in  so  very 
foreign  a country  as  China,  amusements  are  apt  to 
pall.  The  winter  evenings  are  long  and  dull,  and 
those  of  summer  hot  and  mosquito-infested.  Peo- 
ple soon  gauge  the  mental  and  social  possibilities 
of  new-comers,  and  know  exactly  what  their  neigh- 
bours think  on  every  subject  which  can  arise,  and 
have  sounded  their  intellectual  depths  and  shallows , 
and  the  arrival  of  a stranger  and  of  the  mail  boat 
and  the  changes  in  the  Customs  staff  are  the  chief 
varieties  in  life.  That  this  and  several  other  of 
these  small  communities  “ get  on  ” with  little  ap- 
parent friction  is  surely  much  to  their  credit.  Some 
say  that  it  is  because  they  are  chiefly  masculine  ! 

In  summer  large  vessels  can  make  fast  under  the 
bund,  but  at  low  water  they  anchor  in  mid-stream, 
and  how  to  get  goods  with  due  regard  to  economy 
from  the  steamers  to  the  godowns  when  there  is  an 
average  difference  of  forty  feet  between  the  sum- 
mer and  winter  levels  of  the  river  is  somewhat  of  a 
problem.  Though  in  itself  only  a comparatively 
poor  town  in  a mountainous  country,  the  total  value 
of  the  trade  of  Ichang  for  1898  amounted  to  £2,- 
298,437.  All  goods  going  west  have  to  be  trans- 
shipped at  this  port,  and  nearly  all  goods  bound 
east,  so  that  it  is  one  of  the  busiest  places  on  the 
river.  It  is  a curious  fact  that,  with  enormous 


149 


I chan g 

coal-fields  only  three  or  four  days  away,  the  river 
steamers  1000  miles  from  the  sea  are  burning 
Japanese  coal! 

I chang  is  the  headquarters  of  a large  Roman 
mission.  Its  head,  Bishop  Benjamin,  with  whom  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  spending  one  afternoon,  has 
been  sixteen  years  in  his  present  position  without 
even  a visit  to  Shanghai.  His  large,  lofty  room, 
though  furnished  with  all  absolute  necessaries,  is 
bare  and  severe,  and  contains  nothing  on  which  the 
eye  can  pleasurably  rest.  The  Bishop  is  a most 
genial  elderly  man,  with  much  charm  of  manner, 
thick  iron-grey  hair,  and  an  unclerical  moustache. 
As  we  walked  down  the  lanes  to  the  orphanage, 
numbers  of  Chinese  children,  unmistakably  de- 
lighted to  see  him,  ran  up  to  him,  kissing  his  hands 
and  struggling  for  positions  in  which  they  could 
hold  on  to  his  robe. 

With  him  I visited  the  orphanage  and  hospital, 
both  under  the  charge  of  French  and  Belgian  sis- 
ters, comely  women  with  much  grace  and  geniality 
of  manner,  in  which  the  loving,  all-embracing  ma- 
ternal instinct  finds  its  winning  expression.  The 
hospital,  which  is  on  the  ground  floor,  was  crowded, 
indeed  overcrowded,  and,  as  is  usual  in  Roman 
hospitals  in  China,  the  doctor  and  much  of  the 
medical  treatment  were  Chinese,  the  aid  of  the 


150 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

foreign  doctor  (a  medical  missionary)  being  called 
in  in  surgical  cases. 

The  orphanage  is  a large  building,  with  very 
lofty,  well-ventilated  rooms,  constructed  for  four 
hundred,  but  there  were  only  eighteen  girls  in  it, 
who  are  instructed  in  the  Christian  faith,  and  in 
embroidery  and  other  industrial  occupations.  The 
Bishop  told  me  that  the  Chinese  do  not,  as  for- 
merly, bring  orphans  and  foundlings  in  numbers  to 
their  keeping ; indeed,  I gathered  that  in  Ichang 
at  least  the  day  for  this  is  past.  I can  only  hazard 
a guess  at  the  reasons.  These  may  be  the  anti- 
foreign  spirit  which  has  been  laboriously  stirred  up 
recently  ; the  increasing  competition  of  orphanages 
founded  by  charitable  Chinese ; the  partial  disap- 
pointment with  the  temporal  results  of  conversion  ; 
and  perhaps,  above  all,  the  excessive  mortality 
which  prevails  in  these  institutions,  very  much  ow- 
ing to  the  fact  that  the  infants  are  brought  to  them 
in  great  numbers  either  dying  or  suffering  from 
disease,  or  in  such  a feeble  and  emaciated  state 
that  they  are  unable  to  assimilate  their  food.  This 
mortality  seems  a matter  of  thankfulness  rather 
than  regret  to  the  pious  sisters,  one  of  whom  else- 
where, in  speaking  to  me  of  a mortality  of  1600  in 
the  late  summer,  said  with  emotion,  “ So  many, 
thank  God,  safe.” 


Ichang  1 5 1 

Besides  the  Bishop  and  his  priest  secretary  there 
are  French  and  Chinese  fathers,  a French  professor, 
and  a seminary  with  eight  students,  who  study  the 
Chinese  classics  and  philosophy  for  ten  years  and 
theology  for  seven.  These  Roman  missionaries 
appear  to  rely  for  the  conversion  of  adults  chiefly 
on  native  agency.  A Belgian  priest,  who  called  on 
me,  claimed  3000  converts  in  a region  above  the 
gorges,  where  he  had  worked  for  eleven  years.  It 
is  well  known  that  one  cause  of  the  successes  of 
the  Roman  missionaries  is  the  assistance  given  by 
them  to  litigants,  and  the  pressure  brought  to  bear 
upon  magistrates  at  the  instance  of  the  French 
Minister  in  Peking  in  legal  cases  in  which  his  co- 
religionists are  concerned.  This  Catholic  priest 
mentioned  to  me,  as  among  the  many  trials  of  his 
missionary  vocation,  the  case  of  a village  in  which 
nearly  all  the  inhabitants  placed  themselves  un- 
der Christian  instruction  with  a view  to  baptism. 
These  villagers  had  a suit  against  another  village 
in  which  the  possession  of  a certain  piece  of  land 
was  the  point  in  dispute.  French  influence  was 
brought  to  bear,  and  they  gained  their  case,  let  us 
believe  justly,  after  which  they  returned  en  masse 
to  their  idolatrous  practices. 

My  Belgian  visitor,  in  very  vivid  language,  de- 
picted the  sufferings  of  educated  men  from  the 


i52  The  Yangtze  Valley 

deprivations  of  their  lives,  and  specially  from  the 
absolute  solitude  in  which  he  and  others  are  placed, 
living  in  one  room  of  low-class  Chinese  houses. 
He  was  obviously  a man  of  much  culture  and  re- 
finement, and  felt  the  whole  life  acutely — the  dark 
and  filthy  houses,  the  dirty  food,  the  unceasing 
noisy  talk  in  a foreign  tongue,  the  lack  of  real 
privacy  and  quiet,  the  ingratitude  of  the  Chinese, 
and,  more  than  all,  his  own  failure  to  love  them. 
This,  though  my  first,  was  not  my  last  glimpse  of 
the  anguish  of  loneliness  which  these  Roman  mis- 
sionaries endure.  “ Madness  would  be  the  certain 
result,”  my  visitor  said,  “ but  for  the  sustaining 
power  of  God,  and  the  certainty  that  one  is  doing 
His  work.” 

As  I shall  not  return  to  the  subject  of  Roman 
missions,  I will  refer  briefly  to  four  of  the  causes, 
in  my  opinion,  of  their  undoubtedly  growing  un- 
popularity in  Sze  Chuan  and  elsewhere,  in  spite 
of  the  assistance  given  to  Christian  litigants  pre- 
viously referred  to. 

1.  The  exorbitant  indemnity,  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  the  losses  sustained,  demanded  and  ob- 
tained by  M.  Gerard,  then  French  Minister  at 
Peking,  for  damage  done  to  mission  property 
during  the  riots  in  Sze  Chuan  in  1895. 

2.  The  claim  of  the  Roman  hierarchy  (now 


153 


Ichang 

conceded)  to  be  placed  on  a level  in  position  with  the 
higher  mandarins  as  to  the  number  of  their  chair- 
bearers,  etc.,  and  the  amount  of  personal  reverence 
exacted  by  the  clergy  from  a people  essentially 
democratic. 

3.  The  non-admission  of  the  heathen  into  Ro- 
man churches  during  the  celebration  of  mass  and 
other  services,  while  the  secrecy  which  attends  the 
administration  of  the  last  rites  of  the  Church  is  un- 
doubtedly obnoxious  to  the  lower  orders  among 
the  Chinese,  who  have  no  conception  of  privacy. 

4.  The  opposite  methods  pursued  by  the  Protest- 
ants of  all  denominations  since  their  settlement  in 
the  Far  West  a few  years  ago  are  doubtless  working 
against  the  practices  of  the  Roman  missionaries. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  but  just  to  say  that  the 
Chinese  appreciate  the  celibacy,  poverty,  and  asceti- 
cism of  the  Roman  clergy.  Every  religious  teacher, 
with  one  notable  exception,  who  has  made  his  mark 
in  the  East  has  been  an  ascetic,  and  when  Orientals 
begin  to  seek  after  righteousness,  rigid  self-mortifi- 
cation is  the  method  by  which  they  hope  to  attain  it. 

Wherever  I have  met  with  Roman  missionaries 
I have  found  them  living  either,  like  Bishop  Benja- 
min and  Bishop  Meitel  of  Seoul,  and  like  the  sis- 
ters in  Seoul,  Peking,  Ichang,  and  elsewhere,  in 
bare,  whitewashed  rooms,  with  just  enough  tables 


i54 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  wooden  chairs  for  use,  or  in  the  dirt,  noise, 
and  innumerable  discomforts  of  native  houses  of 
the  lower  class,  personally  attending  on  the  sick, 
and,  in  China,  Chinese  in  life,  dress,  style,  and 
ways,  rarely  speaking  their  own  language,  knowing 
the  ins  and  outs  of  the  districts  in  which  they  live, 
their  peculiarities  of  trade,  and  their  political  and 
social  condition.  Lonely  men,  having  broken  with 
friends  and  all  home  ties  for  the  furtherance  of 
Christianity,  they  live  lives  of  isolation  and  self- 
sacrifice,  forget  all  but  the  people  by  whom  they 
are  surrounded,  identify  themselves  with  their  in- 
terests, and  have  no  other  expectation  but  that  of 
living  and  dying  among  them. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Chinese  contrast 
this  life  of  self-surrender  with  that  of  large  num- 
bers of  Protestant  missionaries  living  in  comfort- 
able, and  what  seem  to  them  wealthy,  homes  in  the 
treaty  ports,  surrounded  by  as  many  of  the  ameni- 
ties of  life  as  are  usual  in  the  simpler  homes  in  for- 
eign settlements,  and  with  wives,  children,  friends, 
and  society,  not  very  often,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Wesleyan  missionaries  at  Hankow,  living  in  the 
native  cities  among  the  Chinese,1  and  going  home 

1 It  is  usual  for  the  missionaries  of  the  China  Inland  Mission  and  for 
those  of  the  Sze  Chuan  mission  of  the  C.M.S.  to  live  in  Chinese  houses 
actually  among  the  city  populations,  a course  which  is  considerably 
criticised  on  grounds  of  health  and  safety. 


Ichang  155 

with  their  families  for  a year  or  more  once  in  five 
or  seven  years. 

While  admiring  the  self-denial  and  devotion  of 
the  Roman  missionary  priests,  I do  not  express  any 
opinion  as  to  rival  methods  and  merits,  but  only 
state  facts  which  are  forced  upon  every  traveller, 
and  purpose  to  return  to  the  subject  of  Protestant 
missions  later. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  UPPER  YANGTZE 

{WAS  very  impatient  to  be  off  on  my  western 
journey,  but  after  the  boat  was  engaged,  the 
tracking  ropes  examined  by  experts  at  the  Customs, 
and  my  few  stores — tea,  curry  powder,  and  rice — 
had  been  bought,  I had  four  days  of  “ hanging  on.” 
The  boatmen  made  various  excuses  for  delay.  One 
day  it  was  that  lao-pan , or  master,  had  not  advanced 
them  money  wherewith  to  buy  stores  ; another  was 
a feast  day ; a third  must  be  spent  in  paying  debts 
or  they  would  be  detained  ; and  on  the  fourth  they 
said  they  must  visit  certain  temples  and  make  of- 
ferings for  the  success  of  the  voyage  ! The  weather 
was  raw,  grim,  and  sunless.  I had  had  a fire  day 
and  night  in  my  room  at  the  Customs,  and  a fireless, 
draughty  boat  was  a shivery  prospect,  but  things 
usually  turn  out  far  better  than  either  prophecies 
or  expectations,  and  this  voyage  was  no  exception. 

I was  fortunate  in  being  able  to  take  as  far  as 
Wan  Hsien  Mr.  Owen  Stevenson,  of  the  China 
156 


157 


The  Upper  Yangtze 

Inland  Mission,  who  had  had  ten  years’  experience  in 
Yunnan,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Hicks,  a new  arrival ; 
and  they  engaged  the  boat  for  the  next  stage  to 
Chungking,  which  gave  Mr.  S.  some  little  hold  on 
the  lao-pan,  who  was  a mean,  shifty  person,  coerced 
into  evil  ways  by  a terrible  wife,  a virago  whose 
loud  tongue  was  rarely  silent,  who  had  beaten  her 
eldest  boy  to  death  a few  months  before,  and  of 
whom  the  remaining  boy — a child  of  eight — lived 
in  piteous  terror  lest  he  should  share  the  same  fate. 
This  family  of  five  lived  in  the  high  stern  cabin,  but 
were  apt  to  run  over  into  parts  of  the  boat  which 
should  have  been  tabu.  The  crew  consisted  of  a 
pilot  who  is  responsible  for  the  navigation,  a steers- 
man, a cook,  and  sixteen  trackers  and  rowers. 

The  boat  itself  was  a small  house-boat  of  about 
twenty  tons,  flat-bottomed,  with  one  tall  mast  and 
big  sail,  a projecting  rudder,  and  a steering  sweep 
on  the  bow.  Her  “ passenger  accommodation  ” 
consisted  of  a cabin  the  width  of  the  boat,  with  a 
removable  front,  opening  on  the  bow  deck,  where 
the'  sixteen  boatmen  rowed,  smoked,  ate,  and  slept 
round  a central  well  in  which  a preternaturally  in- 
dustrious cook  washed  bowls,  prepared  food,  cooked 
it,  and  apportioned  it  all  day  long,  using  a briquette 
fire.  At  night  uprights  and  a mat  roof  were  put 
up,  and  the  toilers,  after  enjoying  their  supper,  and 


i58  The  Yangtze  Valley 

their  opium  pipes  at  the  stern,  rolled  themselves  in 
wadded  quilts  and  slept  till  daybreak.  Passengers 
usually  furnish  this  cabin,  and  put  up  curtains  and 
photographs,  and  eat  and  sit  there  ; but  I had  no 
superfluities,  and  my  “ furniture  ” consisted  only  of 
a carrying-chair,  in  which  it  was  very  delightful  to 
sit  and  watch  the  grandeurs  and  surprises  of  the 
river.  But  gradually  the  trackers  and  the  skipper’s 
family  came  to  overrun  this  cabin,  and  I constantly 
found  the  virago  with  her  unwelcome  baby  girl,  or  a 
dirty,  half-naked  tracker  in  my  chair,  and  the  eight- 
year-old  boy  spent  much  of  his  time  crouching  in  a 
corner  out  of  reach  of  his  mother’s  tongue  and  fist. 

Abaft  this  were  three  small  cabins,  with  windows 
“ glazed  ” with  paper,  and  a passage  down  the  port 
side  from  the  stern  to  the  bow,  on  which  I cannot 
say  they  “ opened,”  for  they  were  open  (!),  and  a 
partial  privacy  was  only  obtained  by  making  a par- 
tition with  a curtain.  Abaft  these  was  the  steers- 
man’s place,  which  was  also  a kitchen  and  opium 
den,  where  my  servant  cooked,  and  where  the  pilot 
and  most  of  the  crew  were  to  be  seen  every  night 
lying  on  the  floor  beside  their  opium  lamps,  pass- 
ing into  felicity.  Abaft  again,  at  a greater  height, 
the  skipper  and  his  family  lived.  On  the  roof  there 
were  hen-coops  and  great  coils  of  bamboo  rope  for 
towing. 


159 


The  Upper  Yangtze 

It  was  an  old  boat,  and  the  owner  was  not  a man 
of  substance.  The  paper  on  the  windows  was  torn 
away  ; the  window-frame  of  the  cabin  in  which  I 
slept,  ate,  and  carried  on  my  various  occupations, 
had  fallen  out,  the  cracks  in  the  partitions  were 
half  an  inch  wide ; and  as  for  many  days  the  sun 
seldom  shone  and  the  mercury  hung  between  38° 
and  430,  and  hugging  a charcoal  brazier  was  the 
only  method  of  getting  warm,  and  that  a dubious 
one,  the  earliest  weeks  were  a chilly  period. 

On  the  afternoon  of  January  30th  I embarked 
from  the  Customs  pontoon  much  exhilarated  by  the 
prospect  before  me,  but  we  only  crossed  the  river 
and  lay  all  night  in  a tremendous  noise  among  a 
number  of  big  junks,  the  yells  of  the  skipper’s  baby 
being  heard  above  the  din.  This  man  excused  this 
last  delay  in  starting  by  sending,  word  from  the 
shore  that  he  was  waiting  for  the  mandarin’s  per- 
mit, and  would  be  ready  to  leave  on  the  following 
daybreak. 

I was  up  at  daybreak,  not  to  lose  anything,  but 
hour  after  hour  passed,  and  no  lao-pan  appeared, 
and  at  ten  we  started  without  him  to  meet  him  on 
the  bank  a few  miles  higher,  when  there  was  a tre- 
mendous row  between  him  and  the  men.  We  were 
then  in  what  looked  like  a mountain  lake.  No 
outlet  was  visible ; mountains  rose  clear  and  grim 


160  The  Yangtze  Valley 

against  a dull  grey  sky.  Snow-flakes  fell  sparsely 
and  gently  in  a perfectly  still  atmosphere.  We 
cast  off  from  the  shore  ; the  oars  were  plied  to  a 
wild  chorus ; what  looked  like  a cleft  in  the  rock 
appeared,  and  making  an  abrupt  turn  round  a high 
rocky  point  in  all  the  thrill  of  novelty  and  expecta- 
tion, we  were  in  the  I chang  Gorge,  the  first  and 
one  of  the  grandest  of  those  gigantic  clefts  through 
which  the  Great  River,  at  times  a mile  in  breadth, 
there  compressed  into  a limit  of  from  400  to  150 
yards,  has  carved  a passage  through  the  mountains. 

The  change  from  a lake-like  stretch,  with  its  light 
and  movement,  to  a dark  and  narrow  gorge  black 
with  the  shadows  of  nearly  perpendicular  limestone 
cliffs  broken  up  into  buttresses  and  fantastic  towers 
of  curiously  splintered  and  weathered  rock,  culmi- 
nating in  the  “ Pillar  of  Heaven,”  a limestone  pin- 
nacle rising  sheer  from  the  water  to  a height  of 
1800  feet,  is  so  rapid  as  to  bewilder  the  senses. 
The  expression  “ lost  in  admiration”  is  a literally 
correct  one.  At  once  I saw  the  reason  why  the 
best  descriptions,  which  are  those  of  Captain  Blak- 
iston  and  Mr.  A.  Little,  have  a certain  amount  of 
“ fuzziness,”  and  fail  to  convey  a definite  picture. 

With  a strong,  fair  wind  our  sail  were  set ; the 
creak  and  swish  of  the  oars  was  exchanged  for  the 
low  music  of  the  river  as  it  parted  under  our  prow ; 


ENTRANCE  TO  1CHANG  GORGE 


162 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  the  deep  water  (from  fifty  to  a hundred  feet), 
of  a striking  bottle-green  colour,  was  unbroken  by 
a swirl  or  ripple,  and  slid  past  in  a grand,  full  vol- 
ume. The  stillness  was  profound,  enlivened  only 
as  some  big  junk  with  lowered  mast  glided  past  us 
at  great  speed,  the  fifty  or  sixty  men  at  the  sweeps 
raising  a wild  chant  in  keeping  with  the  scene. 
Scuds  of  snow,  wild,  white  clouds  whirling  round 
pinnacles,  and  desolate  snow-clothed  mountains,  ap- 
parently blocking  further  progress,  added  to  the 
enchantment.  Crevices  in  the  rocks  were  full  of 
maidenhair  fern,  and  on  many  a narrow  ledge 
clustered  in  profusion  a delicate  mauve  primula, 
unabashed  by  the  grandeur  and  the  gloom.  Streams 
tumbled  over  ledges  at  heights  of  iooofeet.  There 
are  cliffs  of  extraordinary  honeycombed  rock,  pos- 
sibly the  remains  of  the  “ potholes  ” of  ages  since, 
rock  carved  by  the  action  of  water  and  weather 
into  shrines  with  pillared  fronts,  grottoes  with 
quaint  embellishments-— gigantic  old  women  gossip- 
ing together  in  big  hats — colossal  abutments,  huge 
rock  needles  after  the  manner  of  Ouiraing,  while 
groups  of  stalactites  constantly  occur  as  straight 
and  thick  as  small  pines,  supporting  rock  canopies 
festooned  with  maidenhair.  Higher  yet,  surmount- 
ing rock  ramparts  2000  feet  high,  are  irregular 
battlemented  walls  of  rock,  perhaps  twenty  feet 


The  Upper  Yangtze  163 

thick,  and  everywhere  above  and  around  are  lofty 
summits  sprinkled  with  pines,  on  which  the  snow 
lay  in  powder  only,  and  “ the  snow  clouds  rolling 
dun  ” added  to  the  sublimity  of  the  scenery. 

It  was  always  changing,  too.  If  it  were  possible 
to  be  surfeited  with  turrets,  battlements,  and  cathe- 
dral spires,  and  to  weary  of  rock  phantasies,  the 
work  of  water,  of  solitudes  and  silences,  and  of  the 
majestic  dark  green  flow  of  the  Great  River,  there 
were  besides  lateral  clefts,  each  with  its  wall-sided 
torrent,  with  an  occasional  platform  green  with 
wheat,  on  which  a brown-roofed  village  nestled 
among  fruit  trees,  or  a mountain,  bisected  by  a 
chasm,  looking  ready  to  fall  into  the  river,  as  some 
have  already  done,  breaking  up  into  piles  of  huge 
angular  boulders,  over  which  even  the  goat-footed 
trackers  cannot  climb.  Then,  wherever  the  cliffs 
are  less  absolutely  perpendicular,  there  are  minute 
platforms  partially  sustaining  houses  with  their 
backs  burrowing  into  the  rocks,  and  their  fronts 
extended  on  beams  fixed  in  the  cliff,  accessible  only 
by  bolts  driven  into  the  rock,  where  the  small  child- 
ren are  tied  to  posts  to  prevent  them  from  falling 
over,  and  above,  below,  and  around  these  dwellings 
are  patches  of  careful  culture,  some  of  them  not 
larger  than  a bath  towel, ’ to  which  the  cultivators 
lower  themselves  with  ropes,  and  there  are  small 


1 64  The  Yangtze  Valley 

openings  occasionally,  where  deep-eaved  houses 
cluster  on  the  flat  tops  of  rocky  spurs  among  the 
exquisite  plumage  of  groves  of  the  golden  and 
green  bamboo,  among  oranges  and  pommeloes  with 
their  shining  greenery,  and  straight-stemmed  palms 
with  their  great  fan-like  leaves.  Already  in  these 
sheltered  places  mauve  primulas  were  blooming 
amidst  a profusion  of  maidenhair,  and  withered 
clusters  and  tresses  showed  what  the  glory  of  the 
spring  had  been  and  was  yet  to  be  when  the  skirts 
of  these  spurs  would  be  aflame  with  azaleas,  and 
clematis,  and  great  white  and  yellow  roses,  and  all 
the  wealth  of  flowers  and  trailers  of  which  these 
were  only  the  vestiges. 

Another  feature  was  boats  large  and  small,  and 
junks,  some  laboriously  tracked  or  rowed,  like  my 
own,  when  the  wind  failed,  against  the  powerful 
stream,  or  descending,  keeping  the  necessary  steer- 
age headway  by  crowds  of  standing  men  on  the 
low  deck,  facing  forwards,  vigorously  working  great 
sweeps,  or  yulows,  five  or  ten  at  each,  the  gorge 
echoing  all  along  its  length  to  the  rise  and  fall  of 
the  wild  chants  to  which  the  rowers  keep  time  and 
which  are  only  endurable  when  softened  by  dis- 
tance. After  some  hours  of  this  region  of  magic 
and  mystery,  near  sunset  we  emerged  into  open 
water,  with  broken  picturesque  shores,  and  at  dusk 


THE  AUTHOR’S  BOAT 


166  The  Yangtze  Valley 

tied  up  in  a pebbly  bay  with  glorious  views  of 
mountain  and  woodland,  not  far  from  the  beautiful 
village  of  Nan-to,  and  the  “needle”  or  “pillar”  of 
heaven,  well  known  to  the  dwellers  in  Ichang.  The 
I chang  Gorge  is  about  twelve  miles  long  ; the  Niu- 
kan,  grander  yet,  about  three  ; the  Mitan  about 
three  and  a half ; the  Wushan  about  twenty ; and 
the  Feng-hsiang,  or  “ Wind  Box,”  the  last  of  the 
great  gorges,  about  four.  These  are  the  great 
gorges. 

I halted  for  Sunday  in  this  lovely  bay,  an  arrange- 
ment much  approved  of  by  the  trackers,  who  em- 
ployed the  holiday  in  washing  their  clothes,  smoking 
a double  quantity  of  opium,  and  making  a distract- 
ing noise,  aggravated  by  the  ceaseless  yells  of  the 
boat  baby,  yells  of  an  objectionable  heredity  and 
undisciplined  naughtiness,  which  at  first  imposed 
on  my  ignorant  sympathies.  Nevertheless,  I luxuri- 
ated in  the  quiet  which  one  can  obtain  when  a 
babel  is  unintelligible. 

In  the  afternoon  the  air  was  keen  and  bracing, 
the  sky  very  blue,  and  the  sunshine,  after  three 
weeks  of  gloom,  had  the  charm  of  novelty.  By 
the  narrowest  of  paths  I climbed  a cleft  down  which 
a crystal  rivulet  fell  in  leaps,  pausing  to  rest  now 
and  then  in  deep  pools  fringed  with  a profuse 
growth  of  maidenhair.  Minute  plots  for  rice  rose 


167 


The  Upper  Yangtze 

in  steps  along  it  ; its  banks  were  masses  of  ferns, 
roses,  and  clematis,  the  beautiful  “ Connecticut 
running  fern  ” being  as  common  as  is  the  Filix 
mas  with  us.  Higher  rose  the  steep  path;  more 
glorious  were  the  mountain  views,  more  marvellous 
the  forest  of  spires  and  pinnacles,  more  graceful 
the  slender-stemmed  palms,  finer  the  contorted 
Pinus  sinensis , more  lush  the  dense  foliage,  bluer 
the  sky  above — not  the  China  we  picture  to  our- 
selves, of  water,  quaint  bridges,  curled  roofs,  and 
flat,  formal  gardens,  but  a Chinese  Switzerland, 
subtropical,  an  intoxication,  a dream  ! 

In  such  scenery  it  was  appropriate  to  come  upon 
a deep-eaved  chdlet  of  brown  wood,  with  surround- 
ings, models  of  cleanliness,  shady  with  magnificent 
bamboo  and  orange  groves,  through  which  were 
seen,  far  below,  deep  ravines  and  picturesque  brown 
villages,  and  the  broken  sparkle  of  the  Great  River, 
with  snowy  mountains  on  the  other  side  ; and  from 
the  junks  on  its  broad  breast  the  rowers’  chant 
floated  up  harmoniously,  and  from  the  farmhouse, 
where  the  people  seemed  to  be  leading  a rural,  do- 
mestic life  with  guests  about  them,  a man  came  out, 
speaking  politely,  and  hauled  off  a fierce  dog,  de- 
cidedly hostile  to  foreigners. 


CHAPTER  XI 

RAPIDS  OF  THE  UPPER  YANGTZE 
N inquiring  of  Mr.  Endacott,  at  Ichang,  his 


ideas  of  occupation  on  the  upward  voyage, 
his  reply  was,  “ People  have  enough  to  do  looking 
after  their  lives.”  Certainly  the  perils  of  the  rapids 
are  great,  and  few  people  of  whom  I have  heard 
have  escaped  without  risks  to  life  and  loss  or 
damage  to  property,  either,  like  Consul  Gardner, 
finding  their  boats  disappear  from  under  them,  or 
like  a missionary  who,  coming  down  with  his  wife’s 
coffin,  came  to  grief,  the  coffin  taking  a lonely  and 
ghostly  voyage  to  a point  far  below,  or  like  many 
others  whom  I met  who  reached  their  destinations 
minus  their  possessions  in  whole  or  in  part.  Signs 
of  disaster  abounded.  Above  and  below  every 
rapid,  junkmen  were  encamped  on  shore  under  the 
mats  of  their  junks,  and  the  shore  was  spread  with 
cotton  drying.  There  were  masts  above  water,  dere- 
licts partially  submerged  in  quiet  reaches,  or  on  some 
sandy  beach  being  repaired,  and  gaunt  skeletons 


170  The  Yangtze  Valley 

lay  here  and  there  on  the  rocks  which  had  proved 
fatal  to  them.  The  danger  signal  is  to  be  seen 
above  and  below  all  the  worst  rapids  in  the  shape 
of  lifeboats,  painted  a brilliant  red  and  inscribed 
with  characters  in  white  : showy  things,  as  buoyant 
as  corks,  sitting  on  the  raging  water  with  the  vex- 
atious complacency  of  ducks,  or  darting  into  the 
turmoil  of  scud  and  foam  where  the  confusion  is  at 
its  worst,  and  there  poising  themselves  with  the 
calm  fearlessness  of  a perfect  knowledge  of  every 
rock  and  eddy. 

I have  found  that  many  of  the  deterrent  perils 
which  are  arrayed  before  the  eyes  of  travellers 
about  to  begin  a journey  are  greatly  exaggerated, 
and  often  vanish  altogether.  Not  so  the  perils  of 
the  Yangtze.  They  fully  warrant  the  worst  de- 
scriptions which  have  been  given  of  them.  The 
risks  are  many  and  serious,  and  cannot  be  provided 
against  by  any  forethought.  The  slightest  error 
in  judging  of  distance  on  the  part  of  the  pilot,  any 
hampering  of  the  bow-sweep,  a tow-rope  breaking, 
a submerged  boulder  changing  its  place,  and  many 
other  possibilities,  and  life  and  property  are  at  the 
mercy  of  a raging  flood,  tearing  downwards  at  the 
rate  of  from  seven  to  eleven  miles  an  hour.  I 
have  no  personal  perils  to  narrate.  A rock  twice 
knocked  a hole  in  the  bottom  which  took  a day  to 


Rapids  of  the  Upper  Yangtze  1 71 

repair,  and  in  a collision  our  bow-sweep  was  frac- 
tured, which  led  to  a severe  quarrel  lasting  half  a 
day  ; this  was  all.  I never  became  used  to  the 
rapids,  and  always  felt  nervous  at  the  foot  of  each, 
and  preferred  the  risk  of  fracturing  my  limbs 
among  the  great  boulders  and  shining  rock  faces 
of  the  shores  to  spending  hours  in  a turmoil,  watch- 
ing the  fraying  of  the  tow-ropes. 

Before  starting  my  boat’s  crew  made  offerings 
and  vows  at  their  favourite  temples,  and  on  the 
first  evening  they  slew  a fowl  as  an  offering  to  the 
river  god,  and  smeared  its  blood  over  the  bow- 
sweep  and  the  fore  part  of  the  boat.  My  prepara- 
tions were  to  pack  my  plates,  films,  and  general 
photographic  outfit,  journals,  a few  necessaries,  and 
a few  things  of  fictitious  value,  in  a waterproof  bag, 
to  be  carried  by  my  servant,  along  with  my  camera, 
at  each  rapid  where  we  landed. 

The  night  at  Lao-min-tze  was  too  cold  for  sleep, 
and  before  dawn  I heard  the  wild  chant  of  the 
boatmen  as  great  cargo  boats,  with  from  fifty  to 
ninety  rowers,  swept  the  stream.  We  untied  at 
daylight,  and,  after  passing  the  lovely  village  and 
valley  of  Nan-to,  admired  and  wondered  all  day. 
It  was  one  long  glory  and  sublimity.  A friend 
lately  asked  me  if  I whiled  away  the  time  by 
“ walking  on  the  river  banks,”  thinking,  doubtless, 


172 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

of  the  level  towing  paths  of  the  meadows  of  the 
Thames  and  Ouse.  The  accompanying  illustration 
shows  the  banks  of  the  Yangtze  below  Wan  Hsien 
at  their  best,  and  the  pleasant  possibilities  for 
strolling  ! 

The  river-bed,  there  forty  feet  below  its  summer 
level,  is  an  area  of  heaped,  contorted  rock-fragments, 
sharp-edged,  through  which  one  or  more  swirling 
streams  or  violent  rapids  pursue  their  course,  the 
volume  of  water,  even  at  that  season,  being  tremend- 
ous. At  its  highest  level  these  upper  waters  are 
practically  non-navigable.  Cliffs,  mountain  spurs, 
and  noble  mountains  rise  from  this  chaotic  river- 
bed, and  every  sharp  turn  reveals  some  new  beauty. 
The  dark  green  pine  is  but  a foil  to  the  feathery 
foliage  of  the  golden  bamboo  on  the  steep,  terraced 
sides  of  tumbled  heights  ; pleasant  brown  farm- 
houses are  half  seen  among  orange  groves  and 
orchards  ; grand  temples,  with  noble  specimens  of 
the  Ficus  religiosa  in  their  grounds,  lighten  hill  and 
glen  sides  with  their  walls  of  imperial  red.  Then 
suddenly  the  scene  changes  into  one  of  Tibetan 
grandeur  and  savagery,  and  the  mountains  approach 
the  river  in  stupendous  precipices,  walling  in  almost 
fathomless  water.  We  tied  up  the  second  night  in 
the  last  crimson  and  violet  of  the  sunset,  where  the 
river  narrowed  and  progress  looked  impossible,  and 


BED  OF  THE  YANGTZE  IN  WINTER,  TA-TAN  RAPID 


174 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

crags  and  pinnacles,  snow-covered,  rose  above  the 
dark  precipices. 

On  that  afternoon  a red  lifeboat  suggested  the 
first  rapid,  the  Ta-tan,  rather  a chipa,  or  race,  than  a 
rapid,  though  I believe  sufficiently  perilous  at  half 
high  water.  I landed  and  scrambled  up  to  the  top 
for  a three  hours’  wait,  while  three  junks,  each 
dragged  up  by  fifty  men,  came  up  before  mine, 
boats  having  to  take  their  turn  without  favour. 
Even  that  ascent  was  an  anxious  sight,  for  some- 
times the  boat  hung,  ofttimes  slipped  back,  and 
several  times  it  looked  doubtful  whether  the  crowd 
of  men  attached  to  the  tow-rope  could  get  her  up 
at  all.  This  was  the  first  sight  of  the  trackers’ 
villages,  which  are  a marked  feature  of  the  Yangtze. 
Each  boat  carries  enough  men  to  pull  her  up 
against  the  strong  stream,  but  at  a rapid  she  needs 
many  more,  and  during  the  navigation  season 
coolies  from  long  distances  migrate  to  the  river  and 
put  up  mat  huts  as  close  to  it  as  possible,  to  which 
dealers  in  food,  tobacco,  samshu , and  opium  at  once 
gravitate,  along  with  sellers  of  bamboo  tow-ropes. 
Nor  are  rough  amusements  wanting.  Rough,  dirty, 
noisy,  these  temporary  settlements  are.  Their 
population  is  from  forty  or  fifty  to  over  400  men. 
When  the  river  rises  the  huts  are  removed,  and  the 
coolies  return  to  other  avocations.  At  the  Hsin-tan 


Rapids  of  the  Upper  Yangtze  175 

rapid  my  little  boat  required  seventy  men,  and  some 
of  the  big  junks  took  on  300  in  addition  to  their 
crews  of  120. 

The  following  day,  after  being  hauled  up  the 
Kwa-tung  rapid  and  enjoying  superb  scenery  for 
some  hours,  a turn  in  the  river  revealed  walls  of 
perpendicular  rock  rising  to  a colossal  height,  esti- 
mated at  from  1000  to  2000  feet,  the  stupendous 
chasm  of  the  Niu-kan  gorge,  to  my  thinking  the 
grandest  and  most  imposing  of  all  though  a short 
one,  and  the  same  afternoon,  in  exquisitely  brilliant 
sunshine,  we  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  Hsin-tan 
rapid,  then  at  its  worst. 

This  Hsin-tan  in  winter  is  the  great  bugbear  of 
the  Yangtze,  the  crux  of  forthcoming  steam  naviga- 
tion, a waterfall  with  a boiling  cataract  below,  a 
thing  of  awe  and  majesty,  where  the  risks,  turmoil, 
bargaining,  and  noise  of  the  Upper  River  are  cen- 
tred. This  great  obstacle,  which  I wonder  that 
any  man  even  thought  of  surmounting,  was  formed 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  by  the 
descent  of  a rocky  mountain-side  into  the  river.  It 
consists  of  what  are  three  definite  falls  in  the  win- 
ter-time, the  first  caused  by  a great  fan-shaped  mass 
of  big  boulders  deposited  malignantly  by  a small 
stream  which  enters  on  the  left  bank,  and  the  two 
others  by  great  barriers  of  rock  which  lie  athwart 


176  The  Yangtze  Valley 

the  river,  above  the  higher  of  which,  as  is  seen  in 
the  illustration,  is  a stretch  of  deep,  calm  water  in 
peaceful  contrast — the  Ping-shu  Gorge.  The  cat- 
aracts extend  for  over  a mile,  and  the  fall  is  esti- 
mated at  twenty  feet. 

Above  the  Niu-kan  Gorge  the  mountains  open 
out,  and  where  their  sides  are  broken  up  into  spurs, 
and  where  the  spurs  are  most  picturesque,  the  ro- 
mantic villages  of  H sin-tan  and  Yao-tsai  are  scat- 
tered on  carefully  terraced  heights  and  bold,  rocky 
projections,  villages  with  good  houses  and  fine 
temples,  and  a pagoda  among  oranges  and  loquats. 
Many  of  the  houses  have  such  handsome  curved 
roofs  that  one  can  scarcely  tell  which  is  house  and 
which  is  temple,  all  looking  as  if  some  of  the  best 
bits  of  the  shores  of  Como  had  been  dropped  down 
in  Hupeh. 

H sin-tan  is  a wild  and  beautiful  village,  and  has 
an  air  of  prosperity.  Many  junk  owners  have  re- 
tired there  to  spend  their  days,  and  the  comparative 
cleanliness  and  good  repair  are  quite  striking.  One 
orange-embowered  village  on  a spur  has  a temple 
with  a pagoda  built  out  over  the  edge  of  the  cliff, 
without  any  obvious  support.  A village  which 
might  claim  to  be  a town,  at  a height  of  fully  400 
feet,  is  not  only  piled  up  on  terraces,  but  the 
houses  are  built  out  from  the  cliff  on  timbers,  and 


Rapids  of  the  Upper  Yangtze  177 

the  flights  of  steps  leading  from  terrace  to  terrace 
are  so  steep  that  I made  no  attempt  to  climb  them. 
The  colonnades  in  the  street  of  shops  and  eating- 
houses  which  projects  over  the  cliff  reminded  me 
of  Varenna;  indeed,  there  was  a suggestion  of 
Italy  throughout,  under  an  Italian  sky. 

I sat  on  a ledge  for  two  hours,  every  minute  ex- 
pecting to  see  my  boat  move  up  to  the  foot  of  the 
cataract,  but  she  was  immovable.  Then  we  went 
into  a low  restaurant,  and  got  some  fourth-class 
Chinese  food,  and  after  long  bargaining  three  live 
fowls  and  three  eggs.  Crowds,  more  curious  than 
rude,  pressed  upon  us,  everywhere  choking  up  the 
balconies  and  entrances  of  the  eating-house,  and 
asking  no  end  of  questions.  The  men  asserted,  as 
they  did  everywhere  on  the  river,  that  with  my 
binoculars  and  camera  I could  see  the  treasures  of 
the  mountains,  the  gold,  precious  stones,  and  golden 
cocks  which  lie  deep  down  in  the  earth ; that 
I kept  a black  devil  in  the  camera,  and  that  I 
liberated  him  at  night,  and  that  he  dug  up  the 
golden  cocks,  and  that  the  reason  why  my  boat  was 
low  in  the  water  was  that  it  was  ballasted  with 
these  auriferous  fowls,  and  with  the  treasures  of  the 
hills  ! They  further  said  that  “ foreign  devils  ” with 
blue  and  grey  eyes  could  see  three  feet  into  the 
earth,  and  that  I had  been  looking  for  the  root 

VOL.  I. — 12 


1 78 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

which  transmutes  the  base  metals  into  gold,  and 
this,  though  according  to  them  I had  the  treasures 
of  the  hills  at  my  disposal  ! They  were  quite  good- 
natured,  however. 

The  whole  of  a brilliant  afternoon  was  spent  on 
that  height,  which  looks  down  on  the  deep-water 
channel  by  which  big  cargo  boats  ascend  the  rapids, 
small  junks  and  native  house-boats  like  mine  taking 
a channel  on  the  south  side.  During  four  hours, 
only  two  junks,  which  had  partially  discharged 
their  cargoes,  effected  the  ascent,  though  each  of 
them  was  dragged  up  by  400  men.  One  big  junk, 
after  getting  half-way  up  in  three  hours,  jibbed,  and 
though  the  trackers  were  stimulated  by  gongs  and 
drums  beaten  frantically,  she  slowly  slipped  back  to 
the  point  from  which  she  started,  and  was  there 
two  days  afterwards. 

At  sunset,  taking  a boat  across  the  still,  strong 
water  above  the  fall,  after  having  a desperate 
scramble  over  boulders  of  great  size,  we  reached 
my  boat,  which  was  then  moored  at  the  side  of  the 
cataract  in  an  eddy  below  the  opposite  village. 
The  lao-pan  said  that  we  should  go  up  at  daylight ; 
and  so  we  did,  but  it  was  the  daylight  of  the  third 
morning  from  that  night,  and  I had  ample  oppor- 
tunities for  studying  the  H sin-tan  and  its  ways. 

Miserable  nights  they  were.  It  was  as  bad  as 


Rapids  of  the  Upper  Yangtze  179 

being  in  a rough  sea,  for  we  were  in  the  swell  of  the 
cataract  and  within  the  sound  of  its  swish  and  roar. 
The  boat  rolled  and  pitched ; the  great  rudder 
creaked  and  banged  ; we  thumped  our  neighbours, 
and  they  thumped  us  ; there  were  unholy  sounds 
of  tom-toms,  the  weather  relapsed,  the  wind  howled, 
and  above  all  the  angry  yells  of  the  boat  baby  were 
heard.  The  splash  of  a “ sea  ” came  in  at  my  open 
window  and  deluged  my  camp  bed,  and  it  was  very 
cold. 

The  next  two  days  were  disagreeable,  even  in 
such  majestic  and  exciting  surroundings.  The 
boatmen  turned  us  and  our  servants  out  at  10  a.m., 
and  we  stood  about  and  sat  on  the  great  boulders 
on  the  bleak  mountain-side  in  a bitterly  cold,  sun- 
less wind  each  day  till  nearly  five,  deluded  into  the 
belief  that  our  boat  would  move.  A repulsive  and 
ceaseless  crowd  of  men  and  boys  stood  above,  be- 
low, and  behind  us,  though  our  position  was  stra- 
tegically chosen.  Mud  was  thrown  and  stuck  ; foul 
and  bad  names  were  used  all  day  by  successive 
crowds.  I am  hardened  to  most  things,  but  the 
odour  of  that  crowd  made  me  uncomfortable. 
More  than  1200  trackers,  men  and  boys,  notoriously 
the  roughest  class  in  China,  were  living  in  mat  huts 
on  the  hillside,  with  all  their  foul  and  ofttimes 
vicious  accessories.  The  crowds  were  coarse  and 


180  The  Yangtze  Valley 

brutal.  Could  these  people  ever  have  come  “ trail- 
ing clouds  of  glory?”  Were  they  made  in  the 
image  of  God?  Have  we  “all  one  Father?”  I 
asked  myself. 

A glorious  sight  the  Hsin-tan  is  as  seen  from  our 
point  of  vantage,  half-way  up  the  last  cataract,  a 
hill  of  raging  water  with  a white  waterfall  at  the 
top,  sharp,  black  rocks  pushing  their  vicious  heads 
through  the  foam,  and  above,  absolute  calm.  I 
never  saw  such  exciting  water  scenes  — the  wild 
rush  of  the  cataract ; the  great  junks  hauled  up  the 
channel  on  the  north  side  by  400  men  each,  hang- 
ing trembling  in  the  surges,  or,  as  in  one  case, 
from  a tow-rope  breaking,  spinning  down  the  cata- 
ract at  tremendous  speed  into  frightful  perils ; 
while  others,  after  a last  tremendous  effort,  entered 
into  the  peace  of  the  upper  waters.  Then  there 
were  big  junks  with  masts  lashed  on  their  sides, 
bound  downwards,  and  their  passage  was  more  ex- 
citing than  all  else.  They  come  broadside  on  down 
the  smooth  slope  of  water  above,  then  make  the 
leap  bow  on,  fifty,  eighty,  even  a hundred  rowers 
at  the  oars  and  yulows,  standing  facing  forwards, 
and  with  shrieks  and  yells  pulling  for  their  lives. 
The  plunge  comes  ; the  bow  and  fore  part  of  the 
deck  are  lost  in  foam  and  spray,  emerging  but  to 
be  lost  again  as  they  flash  by,  then  turning  round 


PING-SHU  GORGE,  HSIN-TAN 


I 82 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  round,  mere  playthings  of  the  cataract,  but  by 
skill  and  effort  got  bow  on  again  in  time  to  take 
the  lesser  rapid  below.  It  is  a sublime  sight. 
Wupans  and  sampans , making  the  same  plunge, 
were  lost  sight  of  altogether  in  clouds  of  foam  and 
spray,  but  appeared  again.  Red  lifeboats,  with 
their  smart  turbaned  crews,  dodged  in  the  eddies 
trim  and  alert,  crowds  of  half-naked  trackers,  strug- 
gling over  the  boulders  with  their  1 200  feet  of  tow- 
rope,  dragged,  yelled,  and  chanted,  and  from  each 
wild  shore  the  mountains  rose  black  and  gaunt  into 
a cold,  grey  sky. 

At  this  great  cataract  pilots  are  necessary.  They 
are  competent  and  respectable,  licensed  by  the  au- 
thorities, and  their  high  charges,  half  a dollar  for 
the  half-hour  which  my  small  boat  occupied  in  go- 
ing up  the  fall,  and  a dollar  for  the  five  minutes 
taken  by  a big  junk  on  the  descent,  enable  them  to 
live  comfortably,  and  many  of  the  pretty  white- 
washed houses  of  H sin-tan  in  the  dense  shade  of 
orange  groves  are  theirs.  They  deserve  high  pay, 
for  it  is  a most  perilous  business,  involving  remark- 
able nerve  and  sleight  of  eye,  for  a single  turn  too 
much  or  too  little  of  the  great  bow-sweep,  and  all 
would  be  lost.  Every  junk  which  took  the  plunge 
over  the  rock  barrier  into  the  furious  billows  of  the 
cataract  below  looked  bound  for  destruction.  A 


i«3 


Rapids  of  the  Upper  Yangtze 

curious  functionary  came  on  board  my  boat,  a well- 
dressed  man  carrying  a white  flag,  on  which  was 
written,  “ Powers  of  the  waters,  give  a lucky  star 
for  the  journey.”  He  stood  well  forward,  waving 
this  flag  regularly  during  the  ascent  to  propitiate 
the  river  deities,  and  the  cook  threw  rice  on  the 
billows  with  the  same  object.  The  pilot  was  a 
quiet,  well-dressed  man,  giving  orders  by  signals 
which  were  promptly  obeyed.  Indeed,  the  strict 
discipline  to  which  these  wild  boatmen  submit  in 
perilous  places  is  remarkable.  The  lao-pan  trusted 
neither  his  life  nor  his  money  to  the  boat,  and  he 
even  brought  the  less  valuable  possessions  of  wife 
and  children  on  shore. 

My  boat  had  the  twenty-fifth  turn,  and  on  the 
third  day  of  detention  she  went  up  with  seventy 
men  at  the  ropes.  It  was  an  anxious  half-hour  of 
watching  from  the  rocks,  but  there  was  no  disaster, 
and  I was  glad  to  escape  from  the  brutal  crowd,  as 
foul  in  language  as  in  person,  to  the  quiet  of  my 
cabin  and  the  twilight  stillness  of  the  Ping-shu 
Gorge.  The  whole  ascent  of  the  H sin-tan  rapids 
took  my  boat  five  hours  and  forty-five  minutes. 

No  description  can  convey  any  idea  of  the  noise 
and  turmoil  of  the  Hsin-tan.  I realised  it  best  by 
my  hearing  being  affected  for  some  days  after- 
wards. The  tremendous  crash  and  roar  of  the 


184  The  Yangtze  Valley 

cataract,  above  which  the  yells  and  shouts  of  hun- 
dreds of  straining  trackers  are  heard,  mingled  with 
the  ceaseless  beating  of  drums  and  gongs,  some  as 
signals,  others  to  frighten  evil  spirits,  make  up  a 
pandemonium  which  can  never  be  forgotten. 


CHAPTER  XII 
RAPIDS  AND  TRACKERS 
STRONG,  fair  wind  took  us  swiftly  and 


silently  up  the  gorge  of  the  “ Military  Code 
and  the  Precious  Blade,”  in  which  the  water  is 
said  to  be  1200  feet  deep  (?),  and  with  some  track- 
ing up  minor  rapids,  and  some  working  round 
corners  with  poles  armed  with  steel  hooks  which 
are  inserted  into  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  we  passed 
through  the  sublime  Mitan  Gorge  into  a compara- 
tively open  reach  abounding  in  vicious-looking  reefs 
and  rocks,  among  very  rocky  mountains,  villages 
on  heights,  and  superb  temples  on  crags,  and  at 
sunset  made  fast  below  the  picturesque  and  nobly 
situated  town  of  Kueichow,  the  first  walled  city  on 
the  Upper  Yangtze. 

The  Upper  Yangtze  is  remarkable  for  the  pictur- 
esque beauty  of  its  cities  at  a distance,  and  their 
situations,  almost  invariably  on  irregular  heights, 
backed  by  mountains,  and  with  fine  gardens  and 
trees  within  their  crenelated  stone  walls,  which 


1 86  The  Yangtze  Valley 

follow  the  contour  of  the  site  invariably,  with  one  or 
more  lofty  pagodas  denoting  the  approach,  and  with 
yamen  and  temple  roofs  dominating  the  mass  of 
houses,  are  very  imposing. 

One  is  only  slowly  convinced  by  experience  that 
the  interiors  are  not  worth  investigating.  Danger- 
ous reefs  run  out  from  below  the  walls  of  Kueichow, 
and  as  the  river,  if  not  an  actual  rapid,  was  at  that 
time  at  least  a chipa,  it  was  not  surprising  not  to 
find  a single  boat  or  junk  there.  Very  few  people 
came  to  our  moorings,  and  the  place  looked  dead. 

The  next  day  we  ascended  one  of  the  worst 
rapids,  theYeh-tan,  of  evil  fame  at  certain  seasons, 
the  Niu-kau-tan,  nearly  as  bad,  the  Heng-liang-tze, 
a minor  rapid,  and  many  chipa,  only  making  ten 
miles  in  eleven  hours.  At  times  the  cliffs  and 
rocks  were  quite  impracticable  for  people  in  Euro- 
pean shoes,  and  I had  reluctantly  to  stay  in  the 
boat  during  ascents,  but  the  lao-pan  declined  to 
carry  passengers  up  the  dreaded  Yeh-tan. 

Above  Kueichow  there  is  a comparatively  open 
reach  with  steep  hills  1000  feet  high,  cultivated  in 
patches  to  their  summits,  then  tinged  with  green, 
small  villages  with  wooded  surroundings  occurring 
frequently.  Though  not  called  a gorge,  even  that 
part  of  the  Yangtze  has  high  cliffs  with  lateral 
openings,  and  there  are  numbers  of  small  coal 


THE  MITAN  GORGE 


I8? 


1 88 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

“ workings  ” in  the  hills,  mere  holes,  shored  up  with 
timber,  about  three  feet  high,  out  of  which  the 
glass  showed  strings  of  women  and  children  creep- 
ing, with  baskets  of  coal  dust  on  their  backs.  From 
this  reach  onwards  the  people  make  “patent  fuel” 
by  mixing  the  coal  and  dust  with  loam  and  clay 
and  forming  it  into  small  cakes.  The  boatmen 
made  great  use  of  it  from  that  point,  and  added 
clouds  of  smoke  to  the  malodorousness  of  their 
cooking. 

Again  I admired  the  resourceful  energy  which 
has  surmounted  the  difficulties  of  the  rapids.  Nar- 
row, steep  flights  of  steps  are  in  many  places  cut 
in  the  rock  to  facilitate  tracking,  as  well  as  rock 
paths  a foot  or  so  wide,  some  only  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  above  the  river,  others  at  a giddy  height  on 
which  the  trackers  looked  no  bigger  than  flies. 
The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  all  difficulties 
of  getting  up  and  down  are  largely  increased  by 
the  river  varying  in  height  forty,  fifty,  and  even 
sixty  feet  at  different  seasons,  and  there  are  water 
lines  even  seventy  feet  above  the  winter  level. 
When  I came  down  many  of  these  paths  and  stairs 
were  submerged  several  feet.  On  all  of  these,  and 
indeed  for  much  of  the  upward  journey,  the  life  of 
the  tracker  is  in  continual  peril  from  losing  his 
foothold  owing  to  the  slipperiness  of  the  rock  after 


Rapids  and  Trackers 


189 


rain,  and  from  being  dragged  over  and  drowned 
by  the  backward  tendencies  of  a heavy  junk  tug- 
ging at  the  end  of  1200  feet  of  a heavy  bamboo 
hawser  as  thick  as  an  arm. 

The  river  at  low  water  is  thoroughly  vicious 
above  Kuei,  and  the  pilot’s  task  is  a severe  one, 
even  before  reaching  the  Yeh-tan.  At  low  water 
this  is  not  so  bad  as  the  H sin-tan  ; still,  the  hill  of 
furious  breakers  with  a smooth,  narrow  channel  in 
the  centre  and  a fierce  whirlpool  at  the  foot  looked 
awful  enough.  The  whole  shore  above  the  bould- 
ers, and  indeed  upon  them,  is  covered  with  the  mat 
huts  of  trackers  and  those  who  supply  boats  with 
provisions  and  bamboo  ropes.  A great  bank  cov- 
ered with  frightful  boulders  projects  from  the  north 
shore,  narrowing  the  river  to  a width  of  1 50  yards. 
Mr.  A.  J.  Little  estimates  the  rush  of  the  current 
round  the  point  of  that  bank  at  from  eight  to  ten 
knots  an  hour.  Forty  big  cargo  junks  lay  below  it 
waiting  their  turn  to  ascend  ; and  a thousand  track- 
ers were  filling  the  air  with  their  yells,  while  signal 
drums  and  gongs  added  to  the  din. 

My  attention  was  occupied  by  a big  junk  dragged 
by  300  men,  which  in  two  hours  made  hardly  per- 
ceptible progress,  slipping  back  constantly,  though 
the  drums  were  frantically  beaten  and  the  gangers 
rushed  madly  along  the  lines  of  struggling  trackers, 


190 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

bringing  their  bamboo  whips  down  on  them  with 
more  sound  than  force.  Suddenly  the  junk  shiv- 
ered, both  tow-ropes  snapped,  the  lines  of  trackers 
went  down  on  their  faces,  and  in  a moment  the  big 
craft  was  spinning  down  the  rapid  ; and  before  she 
could  be  recovered  by  the  bow-sweep  she  flew  up 
into  the  air  as  if  she  had  exploded,  a mass  of  spars 
and  planks  with  heads  bobbing  about  in  the  break- 
ers. Quick  as  thought  the  red  lifeboats  were  on 
the  spot ; and  if  the  drowning  wretches  as  they 
scrambled  over  the  gunwales  did  not  bless  this 
most  efficient  of  the  charities  of  China,  I did  most 
heartily,  for  of  the  fourteen  or  fifteen  souls  on  board 
all  were  saved  but  three.  This  was  one  of  two 
fatal  disasters  that  I saw  on  the  Yangtze,  but  to 
judge  from  the  enormous  quantity  of  cotton  drying 
at  the  Yeh-tan  and  the  timbers  wedged  among  the 
rocks,  many  a junk  must  have  had  a hole  knocked 
in  her  bottom.  Our  own  ascent  which  took  three 
hours,  was  successfully  made. 

I had  then  had  this  boat  for  my  home  fora  week, 
and  various  disagreeables  grew  apace.  The  lao- 
pan,  the  virago’s  old  husband,  a small,  fearfully 
lean  man,  with  the  leanest  face  I ever  saw,  just  like 
very  old,  yellow,  mildewed  parchment  strained  over 
bones,  sunken  eyes  no  teeth,  and  in  the  bitterly 
cold  weather  clad  only  in  an  old  blue  cotton 


TEMPLE  NEAR  KUEICHOW 


192 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

garment,  always  blowing  aside  to  show  his  emaciated 
form,  was  craftiness,  greed,  and  avarice  personified. 
Though  “ sair  hodden  doun  ” by  his  vigorous  wife, 
he  was  capable  of  an  attempt  to  repudiate  his  con- 
tract. He  bargained  and  battled  with  the  trackers 
at  the  rapids  for  hours  to  save  a few  cash , though 
by  the  delay  he  lost  more  than  he  saved  ; he  ground 
the  boatmen  down,  and  gave  them  inferior  rice  ; he 
would  not  spend  a few  cash  on  patching  his  ragged 
sail ; and  at  sunset  near  Kueichow  he  put  in  mys- 
teriously to  a creek  where  he  mysteriously  met  a 
man  with  two  big  sacks,  the  contents  of  which  were 
transferred  with  much  mystery  and  secrecy  to  the 
shallow  hold  in  which  our  luggage  was  kept.  It 
turned  out  to  be  an  investment  in  spurious  cash , on 
which,  if  he  got  it  safely  to  Sze  Chuan,  he  might 
make  a puny  profit ; and  for  this  he  ran  the  risk, 
relying  on  a boat  carrying  foreigners  not  being 
searched  at  Kuei  Fu.  His  hawk-like  face  was  a 
study  of  pure  avarice. 

The  tai-kung  was  a splendid  fellow  till  he  col- 
lapsed towards  evening  with  the  pangs  of  the  opium 
craving.  With  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  perils  ahead, 
he  never  left  the  great  bow-sweep  except  for  the 
three  meals  a day,  gave  his  orders  tersely  and 
quietly  and  was  master  of  the  crew  and  the  lean 
lao-pan.  The  trackers,  who  were  troublesome  from 


193 


Rapids  and  Trackers 

the  first,  broke  out  into  rebellion,  using  violent 
language,  forcing  themselves  into  the  front  room, 
refusing  to  let  us  land  (a  breach  of  contract),  and 
being  insolent.  Some  of  them  looked  too  low  to 
be  human,  just  such  men  as  would  wreck  and  loot 
foreigners’  houses  with  violence.  Mr.  Stevenson 
was  powerless  with  them,  I think  because  they  mis- 
took his  quietness  and  perfect  self-control  for  weak- 
ness. They  were  absolutely  masters,  and  decided 
about  everything  with  and  without  motive.  In  that 
week  I never  saw  a kind  or  good  trait  of  character 
in  them,  and  they  misused  a frail  old  man  who  was 
working  his  passage  up.  New  faces  appeared  daily, 
till  the  number  on  board  rose  from  sixteen  to  thirty- 
four  (another  breach  of  contract),  but  I could  not 
grudge  the  lao-pan  the  few  dollars  he  made  by  it. 

The  trackers  would  not  take  the  trouble  to  put  a 
plank  for  me  to  land  by,  which  compelled  me  to 
land  on  a pole,  and  one  day  this  spar  turned 
over,  and  I fell  into  the  water  between  the  boat  and 
the  shore,  being  extricated  to  live  in  wet  clothes 
for  the  day  in  a windy  temperature  of  38°.  I must 
add,  however,  that  by  the  end  of  three  weeks  they 
became  considerably  humanised,  so  that  I was  able 
to  show  them  my  photographs  taken  on  the  Yangtze. 
They  recognised  their  own  boat  with  yells.  They 
said  pictures  could  only  be  seen  with  one  eye,  so 

VOL.  I. —13 


i94 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

they  used  one  hand  for  holding  down  one  eyelid 
and  made  a tube  of  the  other.  I told  them  not  to 
touch,  and  they  actually  obeyed  ! To  the  end  I 
landed  over  the  swift  water  on  a pole,  but  latterly 
they  held  a bamboo  for  a rail  and  gave  me  a rough 
haul  when  I got  in  ! 

Poor  fellows  ! I learned  to  pity  them  very  much. 
Their  ignorance  and  superstitions  keep  them  in 
dread  and  terror  of  they  know  not  what.  They 
are  so  piteously  poor,  and  work  so  hard  even  to 
keep  body  and  soul  together,  and  when  the  twelve 
hours’  day  of  dragging  and  risk  is  done  there  is 
nothing  for  them  on  a winter  voyage  on  the  bitterly 
cold  nights  but  sleeping  out  of  doors  literally  on  a 
“ plank  bed.”  They  are  rough  and  brutal,  yet  I 
admit,  and  that  not  reluctantly,  that  not  one  of 
them  was  ever  drunk,  that  they  worked  hard,  and 
that  the  cambric  curtain,  which  was  my  only  parti- 
tion from  the  passage  was  never  pulled  aside. 

After  the  great  Yeh-tan,  with  its  crowds  and  ex- 
citements, we  ascended  various  ugly  rapids,  and 
had  some  minor  disasters.  The  big  junks  are  at- 
tended by  fine,  smart  tenders,  in  which  they  land 
and  re-embark  their  trackers,  an  operation  which 
may  be  necessary  thirty  times  a day,  but  my  small 
boat  made  up  to  the  rocks  for  this  purpose,  the 
lao-pan  being  too  penurious  to  spend  two  or  three 


:95 


Rapids  and  Trackers 

cash  in  hiring  the  punts  which  are  available.  We 
were  landing  the  trackers  at  the  foot  of  the  “ Cross 
Beam  ” rapid  when  a heavy  cargo  boat,  unmanage- 
able in  the  strong  wind,  came  upon  us  and  forced 
the  bow-sweep,  which  projected  twenty  feet  over 
the  bow,  among  the  rocks,  where  it  snapped  short 
off,  the  side  hamper  of  the  two  boats  at  the  same 
time  locking  them  in  an  unwilling  embrace. 

Both  crews  seized  the  iron-spiked  bamboos  used 
for  poling,  and  with  fearful  yells  and  execrations 
and  every  sign  of  mad  rage  began  a free  fight, 
but  Mr.  Stevenson  succeeded  in  preventing  actual 
bloodshed,  and  after  a delay  of  some  hours  the 
other  boat  repaired  our  steering  spar  for  the  time. 
A Chinese  fight  is  apt  to  be  nothing  more  than 
“ much  cry.”  But  our  men  insisted  on  going  to  law 
at  the  first  convenient  opportunity,  so  for  two  or 
three  days  we  were  always  following  that  junk, 
hoping  to  be  avenged  on  her  at  Kuei  Fu. 

The  following  day  was  decidedly  what  the  Chinese 
call  an  “ unlucky  day.”  In  China  everything  is 
ruled  by  a rigid  etiquette.  There  are  four  things 
to  be  attended  to  on  getting  into  a cart,  and  rigid 
rules  govern  the  getting  into  a chair  or  boat.  It  is 
not  only  that  one  is  regarded  as  an  unmannerly 
boor  for  breaking  them,  but  one  draws  down  the 
vengeance  of  gods  and  demons.  The  day  before  I 


196 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

came  off  from  the  shore  in  a punt,  and  just  as  I was 
getting  into  my  own  boat,  and  had  one  foot  on  her 
and  the  other  on  the  punt,  the  swift  current  carried 
the  punt  away,  and  in  the  scramble  which  followed 
I violated  one  of  these  rules. 

The  first  thing  which  happened  was  that  the  lao- 
paris  three-year-old  daughter  fell  overboard,  and  was 
fast  carried  away  by  the  current.  The  tender  of  a 
junk  was  being  towed  up  astern  of  us,  and  a tracker, 
a strong  swimmer,  jumped  over,  and  after  a hard 
struggle  saved  the  child  and  wrapped  her  in  the 
clothes  he  had  thrown  off,  warm  with  his  vital 
warmth,  going  naked  himself  in  the  biting  air. 
The  virago  went  into  one  of  those  paroxysms 
which  are  common  among  the  Chinese,  and  in 
which  they  occasionally  die.  She  stamped,  jumped, 
beat  everyone  within  reach,  execrated,  raved,  and 
foamed  at  the  mouth. 

Scarcely  had  this  excitement  subsided,  when,  as 
we  were  sailing  up  with  a stiff  breeze,  we  struck  on 
a rock,  knocking  two  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  and,  as  she  began  to  fill,  she  was  run  ashore 
on  a sandy  beach,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  was  spent 
in  repairs.  Miserable  repairs  they  were,  owing  to 
the  stinginess  of  the  lao-pan , and  consisted  chiefly 
in  ramming  cotton,  wool,  and  tallow  into  the  holes 
and  coating  the  mixture  with  clay.  After  this, 


i97 


Rapids  and  Trackers 

before  she  could  be  properly  repaired,  as  it  was  the 
Chinese  New  Year  holidays,  it  took  four  men  bal- 
ing night  and  day  for  forty-eight  hours  to  keep  the 
leakage  down,  and  not  only  that,  but,  as  the  deck 
on  which  the  crew  slept  had  to  be  taken  up,  I had 
to  admit  the  trackers,  with  their  vermin  and  opium 
pipes,  into  the  “ front  room  ” next  to  mine. 

In  this  leaky  condition  we  went  up  a very  severe 
rapid,  which  took  us  four  hours  of  desperate  drag- 
ging. Sitting  shivering  for  that  time  on  a big 
boulder,  I saw  one  of  the  many  vicissitudes  to  be 
encountered  in  ascending  the  Great  River.  A 
great  cargo  junk  was  being  hauled  up  with  two 
hawsers,  over  200  trackers,  and  the  usual  enormous 
din,  the  beating  of  drums  and  gongs,  the  clashing 
of  cymbals,  and  the  incessant  letting  off  of  crackers 
to  intimidate  the  spirit  of  the  rapid,  when  both 
ropes  snapped,  the  trackers  fell  on  their  faces,  and 
four  hours’  labour  was  lost,  for  in  a flash  the  junk 
was  at  the  foot  of  the  rapid,  and  the  last  sight  I 
had  of  her  was  far  below  twirling  round  in  a whirl- 
pool with  a red  lifeboat  in  attendance. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


LIFE  ON  THE  UPPER  YANGTZE 


T this  point,  before  entering  on  the  empire- 


/i  province  of  Sze  Chuan,  it  is  desirable  to 
give  a few  facts  and  impressions  regarding  life  on 
the  Upper  Yangtze,  my  experiences  of  which  ex- 
tended over  five  weeks  altogether. 

The  Upper  River,  with  all  its  peculiarities,  lies 
above  I chang.  It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  it 
is  the  sole  highway  for  the  vast  commerce  of  the 
richest  province  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  with  an 
area  about  the  size  of  that  of  France,  and  a popula- 
tion estimated  at  from  50,000,000  to  70,000,000. 
The  nature  and  risks  of  this  highway  may  be  gath- 
ered from  these  and  other  descriptions  of  it.  Ex- 
cept in  the  gorges  and  some  few  quiet  intervals, 
it  is  a series  of  rapids  and  races,  which  at  present 
are  only  surmounted  by  main  force.  Mr.  A.  J. 
Little’s  success  in  1898  in  getting  a large  steam 
launch  up  to  Chungking  proves  that  a steamer  can 
ascend,  but  not  that  steam  navigation  can  be  made 


T99 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

commercially  profitable,  or  that  if  it  were  it  would 
be  the  ruin  of  junk  navigation. 

A large  up-river  junk  is  from  80  to  120  feet  long, 
from  nine  to  twelve  broad,  and  from  40  to  over  100 
tons  burden. 

They  are  all  alike  in  that  they  have  low  square 
bows,  lofty  sterns,  flat  bottoms,  and  single  masts 
from  thirty  to  forty  feet  high,  carrying  huge  oblong 
sails,  with  which  they  can  only  sail  with  the  wind 
aft.  They  are  very  frequently  built  at  Wan  of  a 
cypress  which  abounds  in  its  neighbourhood,  and 
being  stained  with  orpiment  and  oiled  over  that 
with  the  oil  procured  from  the  Aleurites  cor  data, 
they  look  like  varnished  pine,  and  have  a very  trim 
as  well  as  picturesque  appearance.  The  planking 
is  about  an  inch  thick.  The  holds  are  only  from 
three  to  seven  feet  deep.  A junk  to  carry  fifty  tons 
of  goods  can  be  built  at  Wan  complete  for  ^125, 
and  a first-class  junk  to  carry  100  tons  or  more  for 
£200,  about  2500  strings  of  cash.  The  holds  are  in 
compartments.  The  forward  part  is  uncovered  in 
the  daytime,  and  the  cook  does  his  unceasing  work 
in  a well  in  the  middle  with  a clay  stove  in  it.  At 
night  a framework  covered  with  bamboo  mats  is 
erected,  under  which  the  crew  sleep.  The  high  stern 
cabin  is  usually  occupied  by  the  lao-pan  and  his  fam- 
ily. A junk  of  120  tons  carries  a crew  of  120  men. 


200 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

In  passage  junks  the  open  space  forward  is  di- 
minished as  much  as  possible,  most  of  the  deck 
being  housed  over,  but  in  cargo  junks  less  than 
half  is  covered.  In  the  big  junks  a sponson  runs 
along  each  side,  which  is  used  both  for  poling  and 
communication.  Junks  carry  a spare  mast  and 
sweeps  lashed  outside.  The  helmsman  stands  in- 
side, with  his  head  and  shoulders  protected  by  a 
raised  “ wheelhouse,”  in  which  he  works  with  much 
skill  and  infinite  patience  a very  long  and  clumsy 
tiller  attached  to  a huge  rudder,  which  often  pro- 
jects four  feet  from  the  stern.  The  roof  of  the 
housed  portion  is  used  for  the  monstrous  coils  of 
bamboo  rope,  ofttimes  three  inches  in  diameter  and 
1200  feet  in  length,  which  are  used  in  tracking, 
and  are  coiled  and  uncoiled  continually.  These 
ropes  only  last  one  voyage. 

The  lofty  stern  is  frequently  much  decorated, 
and  in  all  cases  has  a fascinating  picturesqueness. 
Its  square  windows  are  of  ground  oyster-shell  or 
paper,  or  even  of  stained  glass.  Occasionally  it 
has  a carved  gallery  with  flowering  plants  in  pots. 
Altogether  a Sze  Chuan  junk  is  an  ingenious  and 
noble  construction,  and  the  owners  take  great  pride 
in  them.  Their  stately  appearance  and  apparently 
large  size  are  deceptive  as  to  their  carrying  capacity, 
which  is  small.  I believe  that  no  junk  on  the 


201 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

Upper  Yangtze  draws  over  seven  feet,  which  neces- 
sarily gives  a shallow  hold,  and  the  freeboard  is  of 
startling  scantiness.  The  large  tenders  smartly 
handled,  which  land  and  re-embark  the  trackers, 
are  really  big  sampans,  and  often  have  a curious 
rig — two  masts  like  sheers,  forty  feet  high  amid- 
ships, with  the  width  of  the  deck  between  them, 
the  spar  which  carries  the  sail  running  on  both. 

We  call  the  junks  “ lumbering  craft,”  but  no  craft 
anywhere  are  more  skilfully  handled  ; none  run  such 
risks  ; no  crews  are  better  disciplined  to  act  together 
and  at  a second’s  notice  in  cases  of  emergency  ; no 
men  work  so  desperately  hard  on  such  small  pay 
and  with  such  poor  food  ; and  it  remains  to  be  seen 
if  vessels  of  any  other  build  and  management  can 
supplant  them  in  the  carrying  trade  of  the  Upper 
Yangtze. 

Large  fortunes  are  not  made  in  junks  ; the  losses 
are  too  heavy.  But,  judging  from  the  comfortable 
houses  of  retired  junk  owners  in  many  a pleasant 
place,  a moderate  competence  for  old  age  is  in 
sight  of  all  except  the  very  unlucky.  The  wife  and 
family  usually  live  on  board,  and  these  wives  seem 
to  have  a speciality  of  strident  and  powerful  voices, 
which  are  heard  above  the  roar  of  the  rapids  and 
the  yells  of  the  crews. 

As  to  the  risks,  the  Chinese  say  that  one  junk 


202 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

in  twenty  is  annually  lost,  and  one  in  ten  is  stranded. 
Consul  Bourne 1 states  that  one  tenth  of  the  foreign 
goods  shipped  at  I chang  arrives  damaged  by  water, 
and  Mr.  A.  J.  Little  estimates  the  loss  of  junks  and 
merchandise  since  the  formation  of  the  Hing-lung- 
t’an,  or  “Glorious  Rapid”  in  1896  as  eight  per 
cent.2  Consul  Bourne,  writing  in  December,  1896 
says,  “ A hundred  junks  and  a thousand  lives  have 
been  already  lost,  we  are  told,  z>.,  since  Septem- 
ber 28th  of  the  same  year  at  that  rapid.”  Both 
the  upward  and  downward  passages  are  full  of  tre- 
mendous risks.  On  the  upward  passage  in  Febru- 
ary I counted  forty-one  junks  stranded  at  different 
points  between  Ichang  and  Wan  Hsien,  some 
breaking  up,  others  being  repaired,  and  all  having 
to  discharge  their  cargoes  ; and  when  I came  down 
like  a flash  on  high  water  towards  the  end  of  June, 
though  it  was  impossible  to  count  the  stranded 
junks,  they  must  have  been  nearly  half  of  that 
number,  even  with  the  much-reduced  summer  traf- 
fic, and  I saw  one  big  junk  strike  a rock  while  flying 
down  a rapid  and  disappear  as  if  she  had  been 
blown  up,  her  large  crew,  at  the  height  of  violent 
effort  the  moment  before,  with  all  its  frantic  and 
noisy  accompaniments,  perishing  with  her. 

1 Diplomatic  and  Consular  Reports,  No.  458,  China,  Foreign  Office, 
May,  1898. 

2 Through  the  Yangtze  Gorges,  A.  J.  Little,  p.  246. 


203 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

Besides  junks  of  various  sizes,  there  are  native 
house-boats,  like  mine,  and  others  running  up  to 
four  times  its  size,  which  carry  passengers  only, 
and  wupans  and  sampans — undecked  boats  with 
hooped  bamboo  roofs  ; these  carry  passengers  or 
cargo.  I have  already  described  the  arrangements 
of  a house-boat.  If  the  Upper  Yangtze  junks  num- 
ber from  7000  to  8000,  the  men  employed  on  them 
at  the  lowest  estimate  must  be  a quarter  of  a 
million,  in  addition  to  many  thousands  working  in 
house-boats  and  smaller  craft. 

Junks  never  anchor,  and,  indeed,  carry  no  an- 
chors, and  choosing  a mooring  ground  is  a most 
important  matter — not  that  there  are  not  very 
many  nooks  and  bays  untouched  by  the  current, 
but  because  of  the  caprices  of  the  river,  which  often 
rises  or  falls,  as  I experienced,  six  or  seven  feet  in 
a night,  so  that  a careful  watch  must  be  kept  in 
order  to  pay  out  or  haul  in  line  according  to 
circumstances. 

Big  junks  sound  their  way  towards  the  bank,  rig 
out  great  wooden  fenders  fore  and  aft  to  prevent  their 
sheering  into  shoaler  water  than  they  draw,  and 
one  of  the  “ water  trackers”  plunges  into  the  water 
with  a line,  which  he  makes  fast  to  a stake  on  shore, 
the  fenders,  which  are  really  massive  poles  or  straight 
young  pines,  also  being  lashed  to  rocks  or  stakes. 


204 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Junks  bound  west  keep  as  close  in  shore  as  they 
can  on  the  side  freest  from  rocks  and  easiest  for  the 
trackers.  When  the  wind  is  fair  and  strong  they 
can  stem  the  ordinary  current  with  their  huge  sail 
only,  and  they  take  their  trackers  on  board ; but  if 
the  fair  wind  is  light,  it  only  gives  the  trackers  an 
easier  haul.  At  all  rapids,  races,  and  rocky  points, 
the  tow-line  is  in  requisition.  Eastward-bound 
junks  lash  their  mast  alongside  at  Chungking,  and 
are  rowed  down,  being  steered  by  a prodigious 
bow-sweep.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  their 
speed  should  be  in  advance  of  that  current,  and  at 
every  rapid  frantic  efforts  are  required  from  the 
crew. 

Junks  carry  trackers  in  proportion  to  their  ton- 
nage, but  a lao-pan,  or  skipper,  usually  part  owner, 
the  steersman  the  / au-t' ai-kung,  or  pilot,  the  tai- 
kung , or  bowsman,  the  cook,  and  the  t'au-lao,  or 
head  tracker,  are  indispensable.  The  pilot  and 
steersman  never  leave  the  bow-sweep  and  rudder, 
except  for  meals,  while  the  junk  is  in  motion. 
The  skipper’s  functions  are  chiefly  to  buy  food, 
bargain  for  extra  trackers,  pay  wages,  and  stimulate 
the  crew  to  frantic  efforts  in  dangerous  places  by 
yells  and  gesticulations. 

The  bowsman,  or  tai-kung,  acting  also  as  pilot 
in  my  small  boat,  is  the  most  important  man  in  a 


trackers’  houses 


206 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

junk.  I never  ceased  to  admire  mine,  a tall,  broad, 
well-made  fellow,  the  personification  of  knowledge 
and  carefulness,  silent,  alert,  never  flurried,  hand 
and  head  steady,  all  that  a pilot  should  be,  until 
the  moment  when  he  collapsed  with  the  opium 
craving,  after  which  he  might  nightly  be  seen  in  a 
state  of  blissful  vacuity  lying  beside  his  opium  lamp. 
The  work  of  the  tai-kung  is  to  lead  with  his  skilled 
touch  the  eight  or  ten  men  who,  in  a big  junk,  work 
the  bow-sweep,  a timber,  from  thirty  to  forty  feet 
long,  projecting  over  the  bow,  without  which  no 
boat  could  ascend  or  descend  rapids  and  races  in 
safety.  When  this  great  spar  is  not  in  use  he 
stands  at  the  bow  sounding  with  a long  iron-shod 
bamboo  pole,  giving  the  junk  a sheer-off  from 
upstanding  points  or  rocks,  and  signalling  to  the 
steersman  in  which  direction  sunken  rocks  lie, 
which  his  trained  eye  discovers  by  the  eddies  in  the 
river.  His  responsibility  for  life  and  property  is 
enormous,  and  he  bears  it  nobly.  The  sweep  is 
used  to  shoot  the  junk  out  into  the  current,  and 
enable  her  to  clear  rocks  which  cannot  be  avoided 
by  the  steersman  and  rudder. 

Having  slightly  sketched  the  junks  and  the 
manner  of  navigating  the  Great  River,  I will  con- 
clude with  a brief  description  of  the  “inhuman 
work  ” of  the  trackers,  by  far  the  worst  of  which  is 


207 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

in  the  region  of  the  gorges  and  the  most  severe  of 
the  rapids,  extending  for  a hundred  miles  west  of 
Ichang.  Captain  Blakiston,  Captain  Gill,  and 
more  lately  Mr.  A.  J.  Little,  in  his  delightful  book, 
Through  the  Yangtze  Gorges,  have  all  expressed 
both  sympathy  with  these  men  and  their  wonder 
at  their  hardihood,  industry,  and  good-nature,  and 
with  my  whole  heart  I endorse  what  these  writers 
have  said,  and  regard  this  class  as  typifying  that 
extraordinary  energy  of  the  Chinese  which  has 
made  and  kept  China  what  it  is,  and  which  carries 
the  Chinese  as  thrifty  and  successful  emigrants  to 
every  part  of  Eastern  Asia  and  Western  America. 

The  crews,  which  in  big  junks  number  120  men. 
are  engaged  at  Ichang.  For  the  upward  voyage, 
lasting  from  thirty  to  fifty  days,  they  get  about 
four  shillings  and  their  food,  which  is  three  meals 
a day  of  rice,  with  cabbage  fried  in  a liberal  supply 
of  grease,  and  a little  fish  or  pork  on  rare  occasions, 
and  for  coming  down,  which  rarely  takes  more  than 
ten  days  (I  did  it  in  a wupan  in  a little  over  four), 
about  eighteenpence  and  food,  and  indeed  many 
crews  work  their  passage  down  for  food  only.  For 
this  pittance  these  men  do  the  hardest  and  riskiest 
work  I have  seen  done  in  any  country,  “inhumanly 
hard,”  as  Consul  Bourne  calls  it,  week  after  week, 
from  early  dawn  to  sunset.  The  opening  of 


208 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Chungking  as  a treaty  port  and  various  other 
causes  have  tended,  however,  to  raise  their  wages. 

The  larger  number  of  these  trackers  are  usually 
on  shore  hauling,  being  directed  from  the  junk 
either  by  flag  signals  or  drum-beat,  under  the  tai- 
kung's  direction  ; a proportion  remain  on  board  to 
work  the  huge  bow-sweep,  at  which  I have  seen  as 
many  as  fifteen  straining.  A few  attend  the  track- 
ers to  extricate  the  tow-rope  from  the  rocks,  in 
which  it  is  constantly  catching,  and  two  or  more 
tai-wan-ti,  or  water  trackers,  especially  expert  swim- 
mers, and  without  clothing,  run  ahead  of  the  tow- 
rope  ready  to  plunge  into  the  water  and  free  it 
when  it  catches  among  rocks  which  cannot  be 
reached  from  the  shore.  If  tracking  and  sailing  are 
both  impossible,  the  trackers  propel  the  junk  by 
great  oars,  each  worked  by  two  men,  twenty  at  a 
side,  who  face  forwards,  and  mark  time  by  a com- 
bined stamp  and  a wild  chant. 

In  descending,  in  order  to  keep  steerage  way  on 
the  junk  in  a current  running  from  six  to  twelve 
knots  an  hour,  every  agency  of  progression  is 
brought  into  play.  The  slinging  of  the  mast  along- 
side gives  a lumbering,  ungainly  look.  The  deck 
is  literally  crowded  with  men,  naked  in  summer, 
and  in  winter  clothed  in  long  blue  cotton  coats. 
Some  are  rowing  face  forwards  ; fifteen  or  more  are 


209 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

straining  for  life  at  the  bow-sweep  ; others  are  work- 
ing the  huge  oars  called  che  (wheel),  each  of  which 
demands  the  energies  of  ten  men  ; others  are  toiling 
at  yulows,  big  broad-bladed  sculls,  worked  over  the 
stern  or  parallel  to  the  junk’s  side — even  women 
and  children  take  part  in  the  effort — the  lao-pan 
grows  frantic,  he  yells,  leaps,  dances ; drums  and 
gongs  are  madly  beaten,  and  yet,  with  all  this  fran- 
tic effort,  it  is  all  the  junk  can  do  to  keep  steerage 
way  enough  to  clear  the  dangerous  places,  and  not 
always  that,  as  I saw  on  two  occasions  junks  fly 
down  rapids,  strike  rocks,  and  disappear  as  un- 
connected masses  of  timbers,  as  if  exploded  by 
dynamite. 

I saw  over  eighty  big  junks  descend  the  great 
rapids,  and  it  was  such  an  exciting  sight,  with  its 
accompaniments  of  deafening  din,  that  I not  only 
never  wearied,  but  would  have  been  glad  to  see 
eighty  more. 

Where  it  is  impossible  to  sail — and  even  with  a 
fair  wind  there  are  few  reaches  except  the  gorges 
where  it  is  possible — the  trackers  prefer  the  “ in- 
human work”  of  tracking  to  the  slow  headway 
made  by  the  severe  and  monotonous  toil  of  rowing, 
or  of  hugging  the  bank,  and  hooking  the  junk 
along  by  seizing  with  hooks  on  rings  with  staples 
driven  into  the  rock  for  this  purpose,  or  keeping 

VOL.  I.— 14. 


2 10 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

her  off  with  stout  fenders  while  they  pole  her  along 
with  iron-spiked  bamboo  poles,  which  they  drive 
into  holes  which  have  been  made  by  this  process 
in  the  course  of  ages  in  the  hard  conglomerate  or 
granite. 

In  small  house-boats  like  mine  the  trackers  are 
landed  from  the  boat,  but  in  junks  from  the  attend- 
ant sampan.  Except  the  tai-wan-ti,  they  wear 
short  cotton  drawers,  and  each  man  has  a breast 
strap.  The  huge  coil  of  plaited  bamboo,  frequently 
a quarter  of  a mile  long,  is  landed  after  being 
passed  over  the  mast-head,  a man  on  board  paying 
out  or  hauling  in  as  is  required.  Small  boats  pass 
under  the  loftier  tow-ropes  of  big  ones,  which  often 
saves  time,  and  often  leads  to  noisy  quarrels  and 
entanglements.  The  trackers  uncoil  the  rope, 
each  man  attaching  it  to  his  breast  strap  by  a hitch, 
which  can  be  cast  off  and  rehitched  in  a moment. 

The  drum  beats  in  the  junk,  and  the  long  string 
of  men  starts,  marking  time  with  a loud  yell — 
“ Chor-chorP  said  to  mean  “ Put  your  shoulder  to 
it.”  The  trackers  make  a peculiar  movement ; 
their  steps  are  very  short,  and  with  each  they  swing 
the  arms  and  the  body  forward,  stooping  so  low 
to  their  work  that  their  hands  nearly  touch  the 
ground,  and  at  a distance  they  look  like  quadrupeds. 

Away  they  go,  climbing  over  the  huge  angular 


21  I 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

boulders  of  the  river  banks,  sliding  on  their  backs 
down  spurs  of  smooth  rock,  climbing  cliff  walls  on 
each  other’s  shoulders,  or  holding  on  with  fingers 
and  toes,  sometimes  on  hands  and  knees,  sometimes 
on  shelving  precipices  where  only  their  grass  sandals 
save  them  from  slipping  into  the  foaming  race  below, 
now  down  close  to  the  deep  water,  edging  round  a 
smooth  cliff  with  hardly  foothold  for  goats,  then 
far  above,  dancing  and  shouting  along  the  verge  of 
a precipice,  or  on  a narrow  track  cut  in  the  rock 
300  feet  above  the  river,  on  which  narrow  and 
broken  ledge  a man  unencumbered  and  with  a 
strong  head  would  need  to  do  his  best  to  keep  his 
feet.  The  reader  must  sympathetically  bear  in 
mind  that  these  poor  fellows  who  drag  our  com- 
merce up  the  Yangtze  amidst  all  these  difficulties 
and  perils,  and  many  more,  are  attached  to  a heavy 
junk  by  a long  and  heavy  rope,  and  are  dragging 
her  up  against  the  force  of  a tremendous  current, 
raging  in  billows,  eddies,  and  whirlpools ; that  they 
are  subject  to  frequent  severe  jerks  ; that  occasion- 
ally their  burden  comes  to  a dead  stop  and  hangs 
in  the  torrent  for  several  minutes ; that  the  tow- 
rope  often  snaps,  throwing  them  on  their  faces  and 
bare  bodies  on  jagged  and  rough  rocks  ; that  they 
are  continually  in  and  out  of  the  water  ; that  they 
are  running  many  chances  daily  of  having  their 


212 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

lives  violently  ended  ; and  that  they  are  doing  all 
this  mainly  on  rice  ! 

Their  work  is  indicated  from  the  junk  either  by 
the  rapid  beating  of  drums  or  gongs  when  they 
are  to  haul  hard,  or  a slow  rat-a-tat  when  they  are 
to  cease  hauling,  or  by  flag-signalling,  one  man 
being  told  off  on  shore  to  watch  the  signals  and 
communicate  them  to  the  trackers.  An  error  would 
be  as  fatal  as  if  within  a ship’s  length  of  a reef  ahead 
an  engineer  were  to  mistake  the  order  “ Full  speed 
astern”  for  “Full  speed  ahead.” 

Occasionally  rough  steps  help  the  men  up  and 
down  spurs,  and  rock  paths  made  by  the  pickaxe 
occur  frequently.  Many  of  these  were  thirty  feet 
above  the  river  when  I went  up,  and  were  sub- 
merged when  I came  down.  There  is,  however, 
one  noble  rock  path,  four  feet  broad,  running  for 
many  miles  at  an  even  height,  built,  I believe,  by  a 
private  individual,  as  an  act  of  benevolence  to  the 
trackers  and  for  the  “ accumulation  of  merit.” 

At  some  points  where  the  rapids  are  bad  and  the 
shores  are  big  broken  rocks,  only  fitted  for  goats  to 
climb,  and  the  junks  hang  or  slip  back,  and  the  men 
give  way,  and  several  big  junks,  each  with  from  two 
hundred  to  three  hundred  trackers,  are  all  making 
the  slowest  possible  progress,  gongs  and  drums  are 
beaten  frantically ; bells  are  rung ; firearms  are  let 


213 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

off  ; the  hundreds  of  trackers  on  all  fours  are  yell- 
ing and  bellowing  ; the  overseers  are  vociferating 
like  madmen,  and  rushing  wildly  along  the  gasping 
and  struggling  lines  of  naked  men,  dancing,  howl- 
ing, leaping,  and  thrashing  them  with  split  bamboos, 
not  much  to  their  hurt.  A tow-rope  breaks,  and 
the  junk  they  are  tugging  at  gyrates  at  immense 
speed  to  the  foot  of  the  rapid,  the  labour  of  hours 
being  wasted  in  two  or  three  minutes,  if  there  is  not 
a worse  result. 

Among  the  many  perils  encountered  by  junks 
and  trackers  are  the  chipa , or  races,  which  are  usu- 
ally caused  by  a projecting  point  or  spur  of  rock 
below  which  there  is  a smooth  eddy.  Arrived  at 
the  point  and  landing  the  trackers,  the  tai-kung 
throws  the  boat’s  head  out  into  the  current  to  get 
her  clear  of  the  point,  with  the  bow-sweep,  and, 
with  the  strongest  line  in  use,  seventy  or  eighty 
trackers  haul  on  it  with  all  their  force,  men  work 
with  long  poles  to  fend  her  off  the  rocks,  and  with 
her  head  on  to  the  current  the  water  foams  and 
rages  under  her  bow,  but  if  all  goes  well,  after  a 
period  of  suspense  she  is  dragged  by  main  force 
round  the  point  into  smooth  water,  and  then  it  is 
often  the  case  that  the  cliffs  are  inaccessible ; the 
trackers  come  on  board  and  “ claw”  the  junk  along 
in  deep  water  with  claws  on  long  boathooks  which 


2i4  The  Yangtze  Valley 

they  hook  into  the  rocks,  others  fending  her 
off. 

Things  do  not  always  go  smoothly.  I went  up 
these  races  in  my  boat  many  times,  and  such  small 
incidents  happened  as  thumping  a hole  in  the  bot- 
tom on  a small  rock,  the  rope  catching  on  a rock 
in  the  water  and  a bold  swimmer  having  to  go 
overboard  to  detach  it,  and  the  tow-rope  holding 
fast  round  some  point  of  rock  or  getting  entangled 
in  a crevice  which  looked  inaccessible.  It  was  hor- 
rible to  see  the  poor  fellows  climb  with  bare  feet 
up  apparently  smooth  precipices,  “ holding  on  with 
their  eyelids,”  while  the  drum  beat  “ Cease  haul- 
ing,” and  the  junk  hung  tugging  and  quivering  in 
the  torrent  and  fraying  the  rope  which  was  her  one 
salvation.  On  two  occasions,  where  there  was  abso- 
lutely no  foothold  for  a cat,  a man  was  let  down  over 
the  precipice  by  a rope  under  his  arms  to  free  the 
fast-fraying  tow-line.  These  lines,  hardened  by  the 
silica  in  the  bamboo,  have  cut  channels  two,  three, 
and  four  inches  deep  over  many  of  the  points,  neat, 
smooth  grooves  in  which  they  run  easily. 

There  is  much  more  to  be  said  about  the  track- 
ers and  their  work,  but  the  reader  is  weary,  and  I 
forbear.  No  work  is  more  exposed  to  risks  to  limb 
and  life.  Many  fall  over  the  cliffs  and  are  drowned  ; 
others  break  their  limbs  and  are  left  on  shore  to 


215 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

take  their  chance — and  a poor  one  it  is — without 
splints  or  treatment ; severe  strains  and  hernia  are 
common,  produced  by  tremendous  efforts  in  drag- 
ging, and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  when  a man 
falls  that  his  thin,  naked  body  is  dragged  bumping 
over  the  rocks  before  he  extricates  himself.  On 
every  man  almost  are  seen  cuts,  bruises,  wounds, 
weals,  bad  sores  from  cutaneous  disease,  and  a gen- 
eral look  of  inferior  rice. 

These  trackers  may  be  the  roughest  class  in 
China — for  the  work  is  “ inhuman  ” and  brutalising 
— but,  nevertheless,  they  are  good-natured  in  their 
way,  free  on  the  whole  from  crimes  of  violence, 
full  of  fun,  antics,  and  frolic,  clever  at  taking  off 
foreigners,  loving  a joke,  and  with  a keen  sense  of 
humour. 

Those  who  crowd  in  hundreds  to  the  great  rapids 
in  the  season  for  the  chance  of  getting  a few  cash 
for  a haul  are  a rougher  lot  still.  They  bargain 
for  the  price  of  haulage  with  the  lao-pan  through 
gangsmen,  and  very  often  where  there  is  much 
competition,  as  at  the  H sin-tan,  get  only  about  a 
penny  for  four  hours’  hard  work.  Their  mat 
camps  are  very  boisterous  at  night.  At  the  lesser 
rapids  the  lao-pan  goes  ashore,  dangling  strings  of 
cash,  and  as  there  is  usually  a village  close  by,  he 
secures  help,  after  some  loud-tongued  bargaining 


2l6 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  wrangling,  engaging  even  women  and  boys  to 
tug  at  his  ropes,  and  occasionally  a woman  with  a 
baby  on  her  back  takes  a turn  at  the  dragging  ! 

That  so  vast  a traffic  is  carried  on  under  such 
difficulties  is  a marvel.  Many  of  these  are  created 
on  the  upward  passage  by  the  necessity  which 
hauled  junks  are  under  of  taking  the  shallow  in- 
shore water,  with  its  rocks,  obvious  and  sunken, 
reefs,  broken  water,  and  whirlpools.  Full-powered 
steamers,  with  suitable  steering  arrangements,  as- 
cending the  smooth  deep-water  channel  used  in  the 
descent,  might  escape  the  majority  of  the  risks  run 
by  the  junks;  but  then  a complete  survey  of  the 
Upper  Yangtze  is  required.  So  far  as  I could 
judge  of  the  Great  River  between  Sui  Fu,  at  the 
junction  of  the  River  of  Golden  Sand  and  the  Min, 
and  I chang,  leaving  out  the  gorges,  there  are  very 
few  reaches  in  which  rapids,  races,  and  rocky  broken 
water  are  not  to  be  met  with.1  Indeed,  it  may  be 
said  that  there  is  no  tranquil  water,  and  Admiral 
Ho,  the  superintendent  of  the  police  for  the  Upper 
Yangtze,  is  probably  not  exaggerating  when  in  his 


'Consul  Bourne  “risks”  an  estimate  of  the  value  of  goods  exported 
from  Sze  Chuan  by  this  route  at  ,£3,300,000  annually,  while  imports  coming 
up  the  rapids  and  passing  through  the  Imperial  Customs  amounted  to  £1,- 
776,586,  in  1897.  The  freight  on  cotton  goods  from  Ichang  to  Chungking 
is  estimated  a.t  £3  8r.  6 d.  per  ton,  a scarcely  appreciable  increase  of  cost 
on  every  yard  after  a transit  of  500  miles. 


217 


Life  on  the  Upper  Yangtze 

official  Yangtze  Pilot  he  enumerates  about  a thou- 
sand perils  to  navigation.  When  I returned  I 
realised  that  Mr.  Endacott’s  remark  concerning 
occupation  had  much  truth  in  it:  “You’ll  have 
enough  to  do  looking  after  your  life.” 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  YANGTZE  AND  KUEI  FU 

ON  February  7th  we  entered  the  solemn 
Wushan  Gorge,  twenty  miles  long,  a grand 
chasm  from  330  to  600  yards  in  width,  and  walled 
in  by  perpendicular  cliffs  ofttimes  1000  feet  in 
height,  with  lofty  mountain  spires  and  pinnacles 
then  touched  with  snow  above  them.  The  “ Witch’s 
Mountain  Great  Gorge”  is  uncanny,  and  the  black 
gloom  of  a winter  day,  clouds  swirling  round  the 
higher  summits,  and  the  long  yells  with  which  the 
boatmen  besought  the  river  god  for  a wind,  with 
many  vows  and  promises  to  pay,  did  not  enliven  it. 
Nor  does  the  name  “ Iron  Coffin  Gorge,”  given  to 
a reach  above,  where  iron  chains  are  bolted  into 
the  cliffs  fifty  feet  above  the  winter  level  of  the 
river  for  the  use  of  the  junks  bound  west,  cheer 
the  situation. 

We  were  two  days  in  this  “ dowie  den,”  and  tied 
up  for  a third  on  Sunday,  near  the  last  inhabited 
village  in  Hupeh,  Nan-mu  yurh,  “Cedar  Garden,” 


The  Yangtze  and  Kuei  Fu  219 

situated  on  both  sides  of  a deep  glen  apparently 
closed  by  a high  mountain,  a covered  bridge  con- 
necting the  two  halves.  It  is  a romantic  place, 
quite  worth  the  toilsome  ascent  of  5 1 7 steep  stone 
steps  which  form  the  terraced  street.  The  houses 
are  surrounded  by  loquats,  orange,  and  pomegranate, 
their  dark,  shining  foliage  with  a background  of 
snow.  The  people  of  this  mountainous  province 
are  said  to  be  poor,  hardy,  and  industrious.  A re- 
spectable merchant  asked  if  we  had  heard  when 
peace  was  going  to  be  made  ? Such  ignorance  was 
phenomenal  on  this  great  highway  of  commerce  ! 
Some  boatmen  asked  ours  what  we  were  doing  tied 
up  there  when  there  was  such  a good  wind,  and  the 
reply  was  that  they  had  foreign  devils  as  pas- 
sengers, who,  though  they  did  no  work  and  were 
always  eating,  must  sleep  one  day  in  seven  ! 

Above  this  glen  the  walls  of  the  gorge  approach 
again  ; they  are  still  of  limestone  with  sandstone 
above,  caverned  at  great  heights,  worn  in  places 
into  colossal  terraces,  and  singularly  fluted  by 
means  of  deep,  vertical  potholes,  the  outer  halves 
of  which  have  given  way.  Two  narrow  glens  on 
each  side  of  the  river  are  the  boundary  between 
Hupeh  and  Sze  Chuan,  but  it  was  not  till  some 
hours  later  that  we  passed  the  first  village  of  the 
empire-province,  Pei-shih,  “ Back  to  the  Rock,”  a 


220 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

long,  straggling  street,  on  an  imposing  limestone 
ledge,  and  possessing  a fine  Taoist  temple.  There 
is  a small  but  nasty  rapid  below  it,  which  took  two 
hours  to  ascend.  While  scrambling  along  the 
shore  I picked  up  a piece  of  pink  granite,  which  at 
once  raised  a clamour,  the  people  saying  that  a 
foreigner  with  blue  or  grey  eyes  not  only  sees  three 
feet  into  the  ground,  but  can  look  inside  the  stones, 
and  that  I had  seen  a jewel  in  this  one.  I threw 
it  down,  and  they  broke  it  open  ; and  then,  not 
finding  anything,  said  that  I had  spirited  it  out  of 
the  stone  by  foreign  magic. 

The  current  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Witch’s 
Gorge  produced  so  much  tedious  delay  that  I was 
glad  when  we  reached  Wushan,  the  first  city  in 
Sze  Chuan,  to  which,  for  a considerable  distance, 
we  were  clawed  along  by  hooks  attached  to  the 
boatmen’s  poles.  Opposite  Wushan  is  a small 
tributary,  which  brings  down  salt  from  brine  wells 
near  Ta-Ling,  a district  city,  in  boats  which  Mr. 
Little  regards  as  exact  copies  of  Venetian  gondolas. 
Wushan  is  grey  and  picturesque,  its  walls  following 
the  contour  of  the  hills  on  which  it  is  built,  enclosing 
fields,  orchards,  and  beautiful  trees.  A fine  temple 
to  the  God  of  Literature  in  a grove  of  evergreens 
on  a steep  mountain  cone  1500  feet  in  height,  and 
a lofty  pagoda  on  the  same  peak  are  striking 


221 


The  Yangtze  and  Kuei  Fu 

objects,  but  the  town,  though  fairly  clean,  has  no 
look  of  prosperity,  and  so  far  was  disappointing. 

Toiling  up  the  “ Kitten  ” and  “ Get-down-from- 
horse”  rapids,  we  reached  the  Feng  Hsiang,  or 
“ Bellows,”  or  “ Wind-Box  ” gorge,  the  last  and 
one  of  the  grandest  of  the  great  gorges,  where  the 
Great  River  is  narrowed  in  places  to  150  yards,  by 
vertical  walls  of  rock  from  1500  to  2000  feet  in 
height.  There  are  both  rapids  and  dangerous 
whirlpools,  the  presence  of  red  lifeboats,  as  usual, 
denoting  risk.  My  boat  was  dragged  up  inch  by 
inch  against  a tremendous  current,  clawed  up  in 
places  where  there  was  no  foothold  for  trackers,  and 
so  terrible  was  the  straining  of  these  poor  fellows 
on  the  rough  and  jagged  rocks  that  I welcomed  the 
opening  out  of  the  stupendous  chasm,  and  our  en- 
trance upon  a beautiful  mountainous  country, 
through  which  the  Yangtze  rolls  through  a valley 
covered,  even  in  February,  with  all  manner  of  crops 
in  their  freshest  green.  Just  at  the  mouth,  creat- 
ing two  channels — one  100  feet  and  the  other  200 
feet  in  width — lies  a black,  polished,  square  mass 
of  rock  known  as  the  “ Goose-tail  ” rock ; it  was 
fully  forty  feet  above  the  water  when  I went  up, 
but  when  I came  down  in  June  it  was  only  just 
visible.  When  it  is  quite  covered,  the  authorities 
at  the  city,  five  miles  above,  do  not  allow  any  junks 


222 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

to  descend  till  it  reappears.  A remarkable  rock 
ladder  connected  with  early  Chinese  military  his- 
tory, a grand  white  limestone  peak  which  curves 
majestically  over  the  gorge,  a fine  temple  on  a cliff 
with  gardens  and  courtyards — and  then  the  almost 
painful  drafts  on  the  capacity  for  admiring  and 
wondering  which  the  previous  eleven  days  had 
made  came  to  an  end. 

The  scenery  above  the  Wind-Box  Gorge,  though 
less  grand,  is  very  varied,  the  valley  and  the  lateral 
valleys  forever  narrowing  and  broadening ; the 
distant  mountains  forest-covered  or  snow-slashed  ; 
the  spurs  crowned  with  grand  temples,  below  which 
picturesque  villages  cluster,  and  whitewashed,  black- 
beamed,  several-gabled,  many-roofed,  orange-em- 
bowered farmhouses  ; and  every  slope  and  level  is 
cultivated  to  perfection,  the  bright  yellow  of  the 
rape-seed  blossom  adding  a charm  to  greenery 
which  was  never  monotonous. 

After  ascending  some  troublesome  but  minor 
rapids,  much  bothered  all  the  time  by  a big  cargo 
boat  with  seventy  trackers  of  its  own,  which  kept 
close  behind  us,  always  trying  to  pass  its  rope  over 
the  top  of  our  mast,  a quarrel  being  the  inevitable 
consequence,  we  arrived  in  sight  of  what  looked 
like  a smoky  manufacturing  town,  the  first  time  I 
saw  such  a sight  in  China.  Really  the  appearance 


223 


The  Yangtze  and  Kuei  Fu 

was  produced  more  by  great  jets  and  ebullitions  of 
steam  than  by  smoke,  for  the  “manufacturers” 
were  burning  a local  coal,  much  resembling  anthra- 
cite. At  low  water  there  are  great  sandbanks  be- 
low the  city  of  Kuei  Fu,  or  Kuei-chow  Fu,  where  a 
number  of  salt  boilers  establish  themselves  for  the 
winter  months,  who  dig  great  brine  pits  in  the  sand 
and  evaporate  the  product  with  coal.  The  process 
is  rude,  and  the  salt  is  a bad  colour,  but  the  product 
of  this  and  many  other  similar  wells  is  one  of  the 
chief  exports  of  Sze  Chuan,  and  a great  source  of 
revenue.1 

A great  bank  of  boulders,  a strong  chipa,  a 
highly  cultivated  region,  the  pleasant  valley  slopes 
of  which  rolled  up  into  hills,  pleasant  farms,  a gen- 
eral sunny  smile,  a grey-walled  city  of  much  pict- 
uresqueness, a great  fleet  of  junks  moored  below 
it,  a mat  town  to  supply  their  needs,  and  we  were 
at  the  city  of  Kuei-chow  Fu. 

Ever  since  leaving  Ichang  we  had  been  goading 
the  lao-pan  to  hurry,  so  that  we  might  reach  Wan 
by  the  Chinese  New  Year,  which  was  quite  possi- 
ble, but  he  and  all  his  trackers  were  determined 
that  we  should  spend  it  at  Kuei  Fu,  a favourite 

1 These  pits  are  reported  as  producing  132  lbs.  of  salt  daily  each.  Cap- 
tain  Gill  learned  at  Kuei  Fu  that  Sze  Chuan  salt  brings  in  a revenue  of 
about  ^2,000,000  sterling  annually,  but  this  seems  incredible,  as  it  would 
make  the  annual  salt  production  of  the  province  about  237,946  tons. 


224 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

place  with  junkmen,  so  we  had  the  bad  luck  of  be- 
ing detained  there  four  days  till  noisy  and  glutton- 
ous celebrations  of  the  great  festival  were  past. 
Not  that  we  were  honestly  detained,  or  that  the 
lao-pan  claimed  this  holiday,  but  he  resorted  to 
mean  Oriental  dodges  to  keep  us.  We  arrived  on 
February  ioth,  the  New  Year  fell  on  the  13th,  so 
one  day  the  boat  required  serious  repair,  another 
stores  must  be  laid  in,  the  third  the  lao-pan  moved 
a few  hundred  yards  and  then  said  he  must  go  to 
some  village  for  a new  tow-rope,  and  another  day 
must  be  devoted  to  paying  debts  ! Fortunately  it 
was  brilliant  weather,  though  so  cold  that  I had  to 
sit  wrapped  in  blankets  with  my  feet  in  the  bed. 
But  then  at  home  people  do  not  usually  sit  in 
what  is  practically  the  open  air  with  the  temperature 
at  390  ! 

Kuei  Fu  is  a large  city,  with  a very  fine  wall  and 
noble  gate  towers,  and  imposing  roofs  of  y aniens 
and  temples  are  seen  above  the  battlements.  At 
that  time  it  was  very  hostile  to  foreigners,  and  I 
made  no  attempt  to  enter  its  stately  gates,  but 
walked  in  the  beautiful  surroundings  among  large 
farmhouses,  all  en  flte  for  the  season,  with  many 
wolfish  dogs,  aggressive  and  cowardly,  and  crops 
of  wheat  and  barley  already  showing  the  ear  stalks, 
and  root  crops  with  much  juicy  leafage,  a farming 


225 


The  Yangtze  and  Kuei  Fu 

paradise.  Good  paths  bordered  with  the  yellow 
fumitory,  already  in  blossom,  intersected  the  coun- 
try, and  owing  to  the  recent  dry  weather  there  was 
an  agreeable  aspect  of  cleanliness  everywhere.  I 
photographed  a suburban  temple  with  a porcelain 
front,  where  the  priests,  as  is  their  wont,  were  quite 
polite,  but  on  the  way  back  we  were  “ rushed  ” by 
a crowd  of  men  and  boys  howling  and  shouting, 
and  using  the  term  yang-kwei-tze , “ foreign  devil,” 
very  freely.  No  Protestant  missionaries,  and  I 
was  told  no  Roman  either,  have  yet  effected  a lodg- 
ment in  this  city.  Two  Chinese  telegraph  clerks, 
both  Christians,  and  speaking  good  English,  paid 
us  a visit,  and  told  us  that  feeling  had  become  so 
very  much  more  hostile  since  the  “ disturbances  ” 
that  there  would  certainly  be  a serious  riot  if  we 
went  into  the  town. 

Outside  the  walls  little  is  to  be  seen  except  the 
salt  boileries  on  the  sandbanks ; the  manufacture 
of  briquettes ; the  loading  of  junks  for  the  low 
country  with  big  lumps  of  anthracite  coal,  which 
sells  for  gs.  6 d.  a ton  at  Kuei  Fu,  and  is  much  used 
by  the  blacksmiths  ; the  ceaseless  procession  of 
water  carriers,  each  making  the  long  steep  trudge 
from  the  river  to  the  city  with  two  buckets  for  half 
a farthing ; and  the  aqueduct,  a great  work  of 
former  days,  about  three  miles  long,  which  brings 

IS 


226 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


a supply  of  pure  water  down  a stone  channel  from 
a strong  spring  which  spouts  from  a hole  in  the 
rock  at  a height  of  1 500  feet  or  thereabouts.  This 
good  gift  is  not  pro  bono  publico ; the  magistrate 
who  constructed  the  work  was  ambitious  only  to 
have  a private  water  supply.  The  paved  path 
leading  to  the  source  passes  over  a steep  hill  which 
for  more  than  a mile  is  a vast  city  of  the  dead,  oc- 
cupied by  graves  some  of  which  are  handsome 
stone  structures  closed  by  inscribed  slabs  of  stone, 
standing  on  carefully  kept  grass  platforms,  as  in 
Korea,  while  the  majority  are  circular  grassed 
mounds  held  together  by  rubble. 

Kuei  Fu  or  Kwei  Hwan  ( i.e . “The  Barrier  of 
Kueichow  ”)  is  a decaying  city,  bolstered  up  into 
an  appearance  of  grandeur  by  its  position  and  its 
stately  wall  and  gate  towers.  There  all  goods 
going  up  or  down  the  Yangtze  paid  likin,  a transit 
tax  of  about  5 per  cent,  on  their  value.  As  (ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Little)  over  10,000  junks  go  up  and 
down  in  the  year,  and  each  one  is  delayed  for  ex- 
amination three  or  four  days,  a large  extra-mural 
population  made  a living  by  supplying  their  needs. 
Some  years  ago  the  Kuei  Fu  Likin  Office  was  the 
most  valuable  in  China  next  to  that  of  Canton,  and 
the  likin  duties  were  the  great  source  of  Sze  Chuan 
revenue.  The  grand  houses,  with  fine  pleasure 


The  Yangtze  and  Kuei  Fu  227 

grounds,  of  which  many  can  be  seen  from  a height 
above  the  wall,  testify  to  the  fortunes  made  by 
officials  in  the  days  when  they  had  the  right  to 
levy  5 per  cent,  on  a trade  worth  possibly 
,£2,000,000  sterling. 

But  we  have  “ changed  all  that  ” by  securing  the 
opening  of  the  treaty  port  of  Chungking  with  the 
transit  pass  and  chartered  junk  systems,  to  which 
all  foreign  imports  can  be  carried  on  payment  of 
duty  to  the  Imperial  Maritime  Customs  at  Shang- 
hai. Thus  these  rich  dues  go  to  Peking,  and  the 
“ Four  Streams  Province”  is  the  sufferer,  and 
Kuei  Fu  really  can  only  exact  legal  dues  from  junks 
carrying  local  merchandise  and  from  salt  junks. 
The  reader  will  at  once  perceive  the  reason  for  the 
strong  provincial  hostility  which  is  roused  by  the 
opening  of  new  treaty  ports,  for  each  one,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  enriches  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment at  the  expense  of  the  provinces,  and  deprives 
a great  number  of  officials  of  their  “legitimate” 
perquisites  or  “ squeezes,”  in  favour,  as  the  people 
think,  of  highly  salaried  foreign  customs  employes. 

On  two  days,  owing  to  the  crowds  on  the  shore, 
I did  not  leave  the  boat.  In  the  bright  sunshine, 
“ light  without  heat,”  the  view  was  always  delight- 
ful, as  it  changed  from  hour  to  hour,  and  disappeared 
at  sunset  in  a blaze  of  colour— distant  snow  peaks 


228 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

burning  red  after  the  lower  ranges  had  passed  into 
ashy  grey.  The  picturesque  grey  city,  the  magni- 
ficent opening  of  the  Feng  Hsiang,  or  “Wind- 
Box  ” gorge,  the  hill-slopes  in  the  vividness  of  their 
spring  greens  and  yellows,  the  rapid,  with  its 
exciting  risks,  and  the  life  on  the  water,  made  a 
picture  of  which  one  could  never  weary. 

Yet  five  days  of  crouching  and  shivering  in  a six- 
foot  square  room,  really  a stall,  with  three  sides 
only  and  no  window,  taxed  both  patience  and 
resources,  especially  as  the  virago  and  the  boat 
baby  were  more  aggravating  than  usual,  and  the 
trackers  ignored  the  existence  of  passengers.  The 
lao-pan  gave  himself  up  to  the  opium  pipe,  and  was 
consequently  obliterated.  Be-dien,  my  servant, 
whose  temper  and  pride  were  unslumbering,  made 
himself  unpleasant  all  round.  It  would  require 
some  very  old-fashioned  Anglo-Saxon  words  to  .de- 
scribe the  smell  of  the  cooking  of  the  New  Year 
viands.  Yet  somehow  I did  not  feel  the  least  in- 
clined to  grumble,  and  my  slender  resources  held 
out  till  the  end. 

I had  Baber’s  incomparable  papers  on  Far  West- 
ern China  to  study  and  enjoy,  a journal  to  “ write 
up,”  much  mending  and  even  making  to  accom- 
plish, and,  above  all,  there  were  photographic  nega- 
tives to  develop  and  print,  and  prints  to  tone,  and  the 


AUTHOR  S TRACKERS  AT  DINNER 


230  The  Yangtze  Valley 

difficulties  enchanced  the  zest  of  these  processes 
and  made  me  think,  with  a feeling  of  complacent 
superiority,  of  the  amateurs  who  need  “ dark 
rooms,”  sinks,  water  “ laid  on,”  tables,  and  other 
luxuries.  Night  supplied  me  with  a dark  room; 
the  majestic  Yangtze  was  “ laid  on  ” ; a box  served 
for  a table  : all  else  can  be  dispensed  with. 

I lined  my  “stall”  with  muslin  curtains  and 
newspapers,  aad-ffiiding  that  the  light  of  the  opium 
lamps  still  came  in  through  the  chinks,  I tacked  up 
my  blankets  and  slept  in  my  clothes  and  fur  coat. 
With  “water,  water  everywhere,”  water  was  the 
great  difficulty.  The  Yangtze  holds  any  amount  of 
fine  mud  in  suspension,  which  for  drinking  purposes 
is  usually  precipitated  with  alum,  and,  unless  filtered, 
deposits  a fine,  even  veil  on  the  negative.  I had 
only  a pocket  filter,  which  produced  about  three 
quarts  of  water  a day,  of  which  Be-dien  invariably 
abstracted  some  for  making  tea,  leaving  me  with 
only  enough  for  a final  wash,  not  always  quite 
effectual,  as  the  critic  will  see  from  some  of  the 
illustrations. 

I found  that  the  niost  successful  method  of  wash- 
ing out  “ hypo  ” was  to  lean  over  the  gunwale  and 
hold  the  negative  in  the  wash  of  the  Great  River, 
rapid  even  at  the  mooring  place,  and  give  it  some 
final  washes  in  the  filtered  water.  This  chilly 


231 


The  Yangtze  and  Kuei  Fu 

arrangement  was  only  possible  when  the  trackers 
were  ashore  or  smoking  opium  at  the  stern.  Print- 
ing was  a great  difficulty,  and  I only  overcame  it  by 
hanging  the  printing-frames  over  the  side.  When 
all  these  rough  arrangements  were  successful,  each 
print  was  a joy  and  a triumph,  nor  was  there 
disgrace  in  failure. 

The  day  before  the  New  Year  was  thoroughly 
unquiet.  The  population  of  the  boat  was  excited 
by  wine  and  pork  money,  and  was  fearfully  noisy, 
shouting,  yelling,  quarrelling,  stamping  overhead, 
stamping  along  the  passage  outside  my  cambric 
curtain,  stamping  over  the  roof,  sawing,  hammering, 
and  pounding  rice.  A mandarin’s  boat  tied  up 
close  to  my  window  had  engaged  a “ sing-song  ” 
boat,  and  I had  all  the  noise  from  both,  and  many 
glimpses  of  the  mandarin,  a good-looking  young 
man,  in  fur-lined  brocaded  silk.  Like  all  others  that 
I have  seen  of  the  higher  official  class,  he  looked 
immeasurably  removed  from  the  common  people. 
The  assumed  passionlessness  of  his  face  expressed 
nothing  but  aloofness  and  scorn.  One  of  the 
servants  died  in  his  boat  after  a few  hours’  illness, 
during  which  the  beating  of  drums  and  gongs  and 
the  letting  off  of  crackers  to  frighten  away  the 
demon  which  was  causing  the  trouble  were  inces- 
sant and  tremendous.  We  sailed  in  company,  and 


232  The  Yangtze  Valley 

shortly  after  leaving  Kuei  Fu  one  of  the  mandarin’s 
trackers,  in  a very  minor  rapid,  was  pulled  into  the 
river  and  drowned. 

I had  an  opportunity  of  taking  an  instantaneous 
photograph  of  my  trackers  at  dinner.  Their  meals, 
which  consist  of  inferior  rice  mixed  with  cabbage 
or  other  vegetables  fried  in  oil,  with  a bit  of  fish  or 
pork  occasionally  added,  are  worth  watching.  Each 
man  takes  a rough  glazed  earthenware  bowl  and 
fills  it  from  the  great  pot  on  the  fire.  All  squat 
round  the  well,  and  balancing  their  bowls  on  the 
tips  of  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand  close  under  the 
chin,  the  mouths  are  opened  as  wide  as  possible,  and 
the  food  is  shovelled  in  with  the  chopsticks  as 
rapidly  as  though  they  were  eating  for  a wager. 
When  the  mouth  is  apparently  full  they  pack  its 
contents  into  the  cheeks  with  the  chopsticks  and 
begin  again,  packing  any  solid  lumps  into  the 
cheeks  neatly  at  once.  When  mastication  and 
swallowing  took  place  I never  quite  made  out,  but 
in  an  incredibly  short  time  both  bowls  and  cheeks 
were  empty,  and  the  eaters  were  smoking  their 
pipes  with  an  aspect  of  content.  The  boats,  unless 
sailing,  tie  up  for  meals.  The  Chinese  never,  if 
they  can  help  it,  drink  unboiled  water,  which  saves 
them  from  many  diseases,  and  these  men  drank  the 
water  in  which  the  rice  was  cooked. 


233 


The  Yangtze  and  Kuei  Fu 

On  three  such  meals  the  poor  fellows  haul  with 
all  their  strength  for  twelve  hours  daily,  never 
shirking  their  work.  They  are  rough,  truly,  but  as 
the  voyage  went  on  their  honest  work,  pluck,  en- 
durance, hardihood,  sobriety,  and  good-nature  won 
my  sympathy  and  in  some  sort  my  admiration. 
They  might  be  better  clothed  and  fed  if  they  were 
not  opium  smokers,  but  then  where  would  be  their 
nightly  Elysium  ? 


CHAPTER  XV 

NEW  YEAR’S  DAY  AT  KUEI-CHOW  FU 

NEW  YEAR’S  DAY  arrived  at  last,  as  cold 
and  brilliant  as  if  it  were  not  belated  by  six 
weeks.  I took  a beautiful  walk  among  prosperous 
farms  where  the  people  were  all  in  gala  dress.  The 
houses  were  decked  with  flags  and  streamers,  and 
even  the  buff  dogs  had  knots  of  colour  round  their 
necks.  From  above  the  wall  the  grey  city  could 
be  seen  brilliantly  decorated,  and  sounds  of  jubila- 
tion came  up  from  it.  The  suburbs  and  the  mat 
town  on  the  river  bank  were  gay  and  noisy,  and 
much  money  was  spent  on  crackers  and  explosives 
generally.  The  junks  were  decorated,  and  the 
“ sing-song  ” boats  blossomed  into  a blaze  of  colour. 
Everyone  except  my  trackers  appeared  in  new 
clothes,  and  threw  off  the  old  ones  with  rejoicing. 

This  was  my  second  New  Year  in  China,  and  I 
had  seen  its  approach  as  far  back  as  Ichang,  where, 
as  everywhere,  tables  appeared  in  the  streets  a 
month  beforehand,  and  all  sorts  of  tempting  articles 


234 


New  Year’s  Day  at  Kuei-Chow  Fu  235 

were  displayed  upon  them  in  a tempting  manner. 
This  is  the  time  when  things  can  be  had  cheap,  and 
many  articles  of  bric-a-brac  and  embroidered  dresses 
are  for  sale  which  are  not  obtainable  at  any  other 


A CHINESE  PUNCHINELLO 


time.  For,  in  order  to  pay  debts,  a sacred  obliga- 
tion worthily  honoured  in  the  observance,  many 
families  are  obliged  to  part  with  possessions  long 
cherished.  The  crowds  in  the  streets  in  gala 
dresses  are  enormous  ; children  are  gaily  dressed, 
their  quaint  heads  are  decorated  with  flowers,  and 


236 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

they  receive  presents  of  toys  and  bon-bons.  The 
toy-shops  drive  a roaring  trade. 

Red  paper  appears  everywhere  in  long  strips 
pasted  on  the  lintels  and  doorposts  of  houses,  em- 
blazoned with  the  characters  for  happiness  and 
longevity,  and  with  formal  sentences  suitable  for 
the  festive  occasion,  many  of  which  are  written  on 
tables  in  the  streets  which  are  provided  with  ink- 
brushes  and  ink-stones.  Every  shop  is  brilliant 
with  these  red  papers  pasted  or  suspended,  and 
with  kin  hwa,  or  “golden  flowers,”  much  made  in 
Shao  Hsing,  being  artificial  flowers  and  leaves 
often  of  great  size,  of  yellow  tinsel  on  wires,  mak- 
ing  a goodly  show.  The  “sing-song”  boats  were 
profusely  decorated  with  these,  and  they  are  much 
used  for  the  New  Year  offerings  in  temples,  and 
for  the  annual  redecoration  of  the  household  tablets. 
Thousands  of  vegetable  wax  candles,  with  paper 
wicks,  varying  in  size  from  the  thickness  of  a man’s 
leg  to  that  of  his  finger,  coloured  vermilion,  and 
painted  with  humorous  and  mythical  pictures,  and 
many  other  things  used  for  offerings  in  the  temples, 
and  ribbons  and  streamers  of  all  descriptions  made 
the  streets,  even  the  mat  streets  outside  Kuei  Fu, 
gay. 

For  the  three  previous  days  unlimited  scrubbing 
of  clothes,  persons,  doors,  chairs,  shutters,  and  all 


New  Year’s  Day  at  Kuei-Chow  Fu  2 37 

woodwork  went  on  ; and  though  boats  were  not 
as  universally  turned  out  and  cleaned  as  at  Canton, 
where  I spent  a previous  New  Year,  a good  many 
of  the  smaller  craft  were  beached  and  cleansed  in- 
side and  out.  Even  the  trackers  scrubbed  their 
faces,  and  appeared  a paler  yellow. 

Towards  the  evening  of  that  day,  between  the 
din  of  gongs  and  the  constant  explosion  at  every 
door  of  strings  of  fireworks  intended  to  expel  evil 
spirits  and  prevent  others  from  entering,  the  noise 
became  exciting.  This  idea  of  expelling  evil  spirits 
and  preventing  their  entrance  at  the  incoming  of 
the  year  is  the  same  as  is  carried  out  in  Korea  by 
the  burning  in  a potsherd  at  the  house  door  of  the 
hair  of  all  the  inmates,  which,  when  cut  off  or 
falling  out,  is  preserved  for  this  purpose.  The 
Chinese,  like  the  Koreans,  believe  themselves  sur- 
rounded by  legions  of  demons,  mainly  malignant, 
who  must  either  be  frightened  or  propitiated. 

Religion  plays  a most  conspicuous  part  in  visits 
to  the  temples,  and  offerings.  At  all  the  farms 
near  Kuei  Fu,  trees,  fences,  barns,  and  farming 
implements,  as  well  as  houses,  had  prayers  pasted 
upon  them.  The  junkmen,  though  not  nearly  to 
the  same  extent  as  in  Kwantung,  pasted  paper 
prayers  on  oars,  sweeps,  mast,  and  rudder,  and  hung 
them  over  the  boats’  sterns  ; and  every  house  was 


238 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

purified  by  a religious  ceremonial.  New  Year’s 
Day  is  kept  as  the  birthday  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion, and  a child  born  on  the  previous  day  enters 
his  second  year  upon  it.  In  the  houses  of  well-to-do 
people  such  birthdays  are  great  occasions  ; and  ab- 
bots, monks,  and  priests  assemble  to  do  them  hon- 
our, with  much  noise  and  many  prayers,  some  read 
and  others  chanted  from  memory,  after  which 
the  written  prayers  are  burned,  and  libations  are 
poured  out.  It  is  the  family  and  social  ceremon- 
ies connected  with  idolatry  and  demonism  at  this 
season  which  are  a special  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
Christians. 

Among  other  religious  duties,  some  persons, 
both  men  and  women,  burdened  with  the  weight 
of  the  sins  of  the  year,  employ  priests  to  intercede 
for  them  with  the  unseen  powers,  and  fast,  and 
give  away  much  to  the  poor.  The  temples  outside 
Kuei  Fu  were  thronged  for  the  days  preceding  the 
New  Year  with  men  and  women,  old  and  young; 
and  in  the  midst  of  clouds  of  incense  rich  and  poor 
prostrated  themselves  before  the  gods,  burning 
gold  and  silver  tinsel  paper,  while  gongs,  bells, 
drums,  and  cymbals  kept  up  a ceaseless  din. 

In  the  midst  of  the  general  winding  up  of  all 
affairs,  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  starting  on  the 
New  Year  clear,  the  great  matter  of  debt  is  not 


New  Year’s  Day  at  Kuei-Chow  Fu  239 

forgotten.  The  paying  of  debts  and  settling  of  ac- 
counts is  a highly  praiseworthy  custom,  and  one 
which  we  might  introduce  among  ourselves  with 
advantage.  Although  only  a custom,  it  has  all  the 
force  of  law.  If  it  can  be  avoided  by  any  sacrifice, 
no  debt  is  carried  over  New  Year’s  Day  without 
either  an  actual  settlement  or  an  arrangement  re- 
garded as  satisfactory  by  the  creditor.  To  do 
otherwise  would  be  to  secure  a blasted  reputation. 
If  men  owe  more  than  they  can  pay,  custom  com- 
pels them  at  this  season  to  put  all  they  have  into 
the  hands  of  their  creditors  and  close  their  business 
concerns  ; and  one  among  the  causes  of  suicide  is 
when  men  have  not  enough  to  pay  their  debts  with. 
Interest  on  loans  rises,  the  pawnbrokers’  ware- 
houses are  choke-full,  and  most  kinds  of  commodi- 
ties fall  in  value,  while  second-hand  clothing  and 
many  other  personal  possessions  are  to  be  bought 
cheap.  The  future  to  a Chinese  often  consists  of 
little  more  than  his  funeral  and  the  New  Year! 
People  dread  the  difficulties,  expense,  and  delays 
of  resorting  to  law  for  the  recovery  of  debts  ; and 
all  are  agreed  on  maintaining  this  wholesome  cus- 
tom, which  has  a great  tendency  to  weed  out  from 
traders  the  shifty  and  dishonest.  I have  heard  that 
one  method  of  compelling  an  unwilling  debtor  to 
pay  his  debts  is  to  remove  the  door  from  his  house 


240 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

or  shop,  so  as  to  allow  of  the  ingress  of  evil  and 
malignant  demons.  This  last  resort  is  said  never 
to  fail  ! 

All  the  ceremonials  which  are  to  welcome  the 
New  Year,  with  the  garnishing  of  the  house  with 
red  paper,  tinsel  flowers,  streamers,  and  the  pic- 
tures, ornamenting  of  the  ancestral  shrine,  and  the 
general  “ redding  up,”  occupy  much  of  the  previ- 
ous night ; and  the  stillness  of  the  first  hours  of  the 
great  day  reminds  one  of  an  old-fashioned  Scotch 
Sunday. 

Towards  noon  the  streets  begin  to  fill,  as  in 
America,  with  men  with  card-cases  paying  visits. 
All  are  well  dressed,  even  to  the  coolies,  for  those 
who  have  not  grand  clothes  hire  them.  Inside 
Kuei  Fu  sedan  chairs  were  en  regie ; outside,  men 
made  their  calls  on  foot,  in  many  instances  cards 
sufficing,  inscribed  with  a device  suggesting  the 
three  good  wishes  of  children  (l.e.,  sons),  wealth  or 
rank,  and  longevity.  Men  meeting  in  the  streets 
greeted  each  other  with  profound  respect,  and  with 
the  good  wish,  “ May  the  new  joy  be  yours,”  which 
reminded  me  of  the  Syrian  salutation  on  the  feast 
of  the  Epiphany,  or  with  the  words,  “ I respectfully 
wish  you  joy.”  Universal  politeness  and  good  be- 
haviour prevailed,  and  not  a tipsy  man  was  to  be 
seen  during  the  day  or  evening. 


New  Year’s  Day  at  Kuei-Chow  Fu  241 

Mourners  remain  within  doors,  and  strips  of  blue 
paper  mixed  with  red  denote  houses  into  which 
death  has  entered  during  the  previous  year.  Be- 
dien  told  me  that  in  the  city,  where  there  are  many 
literati  and  rich  men,  there  were  houses  with  all 
their  woodwork  covered  with  gold-sprinkled  red 
paper,  and  on  the  lintels  five  slips  expressing  the 
desire  of  the  owner  for  the  five  “ blessings  ” : riches, 
health,  love  of  virtue,  longevity,  and  a natural 
death.  Over  some  shops  was  a decorated  slip,  “ May 
rich  customers  ever  enter  this  door,”  and  in  many 
stately  vestibules,  in  which  handsome  presentation 
coffins  were  reared  on  end,  there  were  costly  scrolls 
inscribed  with  aphorisms  and  other  sentences.  1 
On  New  Year’s  Day  gods  and  ancestors  receive 
prostrations,  and  are  presented  with  gifts  in  the 
temples  and  in  the  clan  or  family  ancestral  halls. 
It  would  be  a gross  breach  of  etiquette  and  an 

1 Dr.  Wells  Williams,  on  p.  812  of  The  Middle  Kingdom,  vol.  i.,  says 
that  a literary  man  would  have  such  a sentence  as — 

“ May  I be  so  learned  as  to  secrete  in  my  mind  three  myriads  of  volumes.” 
“ May  I know  the  affairs  of  the  world  for  six  thousand  years.” 

While  a shopkeeper  would  adorn  his  door  with  such  mottoes  as  these — 
“ May  profits  be  like  the  morning  sun  rising  on  the  clouds.” 

“ May  wealth  increase  like  the  morning  tide  which  brings  the  rain.” 

“ Manage  your  occupation  according  to  truth  and  loyalty.” 

“ Hold  on  to  benevolence  and  rectitude  in  all  your  trading.” 

Dr.  Williams  adds  that  the  influence  of  these  and  countless  similar 
mottoes  which  are  to  be  seen  throughout  the  land  is  inestimable,  and  is 
usually  for  good.  At  all  events,  it  is  better  to  have  a high  ideal  than  a 
low  one. 

16 


242 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

unthinkable  outrage  if  inferiors  were  not  to  pay  their 
respects  to  superiors,  pupils  to  salute  their  teachers, 
and  children  to  prostrate  themselves  before  their 
parents. 

When  evening  came,  lanterns,  transparencies,  and 
fireworks  appeared,  and  very  effective  coloured  fires 
reddened  the  broad  bosom  of  the  Yangtze.  Hilar- 
ious sounds  proceeding  from  closed  doors  showed 
that,  as  in  Korea  at  the  same  hour,  sacrifices  were 
being  offered  to  departed  parents,  and  that  families 
were  gathered  at  the  final  feast  of  the  day.  My 
trackers  hung  coloured  lanterns  from  the  matted 
roof  and  feasted  on  pork  with  wine,  but  there  was 
no  excess,  and  it  was  a real  pleasure  to  see  them 
get  one  good  meal  with  time  to  enjoy  it.  Owing 
to  the  moderate  use  of  intoxicants,  and  that  chiefly 
with  food,  the  three  holidays  of  this  universal  fest- 
ival pass  by  without  turmoil  or  disgrace,  and  the 
population  goes  back  to  trade  and  work  out  of 
debt  and  not  demoralised  by  its  spell  of  social 
festivity. 

So  the  most  ancient  of  the  world’s  existing 
civilisations  comports  itself  on  its  great  holiday, 
while  our  civilisation  of  yesterday,  especially  in 
Scotland,  what  with  “ first-footing,”  “treating,”  and 
general  sociability,  is  apt  to  turn  the  holiday  into 
a pandemonium. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
KUEI  FU  TO  WAN  HSIEN 
HE  following  morning  my  trackers,  having  no 


1 fumes  of  liquor  to  sleep  off,  were  astir  early. 
There  was  one  long  and  strong  rapid,  Lao  Ma 
(“Old  Horse”),  and  a minor  one,  Miao  Chitze 


(“Temple  Stairs”),  where  the  water  rushes  furi- 


ously over  a succession  of  steps  with  a clear  but 
very  rapid  channel  in  the  centre.  Passenger  boats 
turn  out  their  fares  there,  and  it  was  piteous  to  see 
the  women  with  their  bound  feet  hobbling  and 
tumbling  among  boulder's,  where  I,  who  am  not  a 
very  bad  climber,  was  glad  to  get  the  help  of  two 
men.  Of  course,  the  fathers  and  husbands  gave 
them  no  assistance.  The  fierce  cataract  of  Tung 
Yangtze,  remarkable  for  a vigorous  attempt  which 
was  made  not  very  many  years  ago  to  overcome 
its  difficulties  by  building  a fine  stone  breakwater, 
now  in  decay,  and  a succession  of  chipas  and 
eddies,  intervened  between  Kuei  Fu  and  Yun- 
yang  Hsien,  or  “ Clouded  Sun  City,”  on  the  bank 


243 


244  The  Yangtze  Valley 

of  a fine  gorge,  its  grey  walls  extending  far  up  the 
mountain  on  the  slope  of  which  the  city  stands, 
high  above  the  winter  level  of  the  river. 

These  cities  on  the  Yangtze  are  captivating  to 
the  eye,  and  the  touches  of  colour  given  by  the 
glazed  green  and  yellow  tiles  of  the  curved  roofs 
of  their  many  fine  temples  relieve  the  otherwise 
monotonous  grey.  The  “ City  of  the  Clouded 
Sun”  is  not  lively,  and  has  very  little  trade,  but  it 
is  stately  and  clean  and  its  temples  are  well  kept 
and  imposing,  specially  the  Temple  of  Longevity, 
which  has  a wall  richly  decorated  in  high  relief,  in 
which  fine  bronze  tablets  are  inlaid. 

The  glory  of  the  city  is,  however,  on  the  opposite 
bank — the  Temple  of  Chang-fei,  a warrior  who 
died  fighting  for  his  country.  The  whole  scene 
is  beautiful,  and  it  was  most  mortifying  that  the 
crowd  which  gathered  round  my  camera,  looking 
in  at  the  lens  and  over  my  shoulder  under  the 
focussing  cloth  and  shaking  it  violently,  prevented 
me  from  getting  a picture  of  it.  Nature  and  art 
have  combined  in  a perfect  picturesqueness.  On 
the  flat  vertical  surface  of  a noble  cliff  rising  from 
the  boulder-strewn  shore  of  the  Yangtze  are  four 
characters — and  what  can  be  more  decorative 
than  Chinese  characters  “writ  large”? — which  are 
translated  “ Ethereal  bell,  one  thousand  ages.” 


Kuei  Fu  to  Wan  Hsien  245 

This  bell  is  believed  by  the  people  to  ring  of  its 
own  accord  in  case  of  a fire  in  the  district. 

Above  it,  and  approached  by  a fine  broad  flight 
of  100  stone  stairs,  is  a magnificent  temple  in  per- 
fect repair,  and  with  its  gorgeous  decorations  lately 


TEMPLE  OF  CHANG-FEI 

restored.  It  has  three  courts,  one  three-storeyed 
and  two  two-storeyed  pavilions,  their  much-curled 
roofs  tiled  with  glazed  tiles  of  an  exquisite  green 
Corridors,  also  roofed  with  green  tiles  and  composed 
of  elaborate  and  beautiful  wooden  fretwork  with 
the  peony  for  its  motive,  connect  the  courts.  On 
one  side  of  the  temple  is  a deep  narrow  glen  with 


246 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

fine  trees  and  a waterfall,  and  over  this  a beautiful 
stone  bridge  has  been  thrown  from  the  temple 
door.  There  are  some  noble  specimens  of  the 
Ficus  religiosa.  There  were  large  numbers  of 
visitors,  and  a ferry-boat  is  continually  crossing. 
A lovelier  place  for  a religious  picnic  could  not  be 
found.1 

At  Yun-yang  we  took  in  a relation  of  the  lao- 
pan,  a Romanist,  employed  by  the  French  priest 
resident  in  the  city  as  doctor  to  a dispensary.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  there  are  300  Roman  Christians  in 
Yun-yang,  who  are  quite  free  from  molestation. 
There  is  no  Protestant  missionary  there  or  in  the 
country  we  passed  through  during  the  previous 
eighteen  days.  On  the  river  bank,  after  Mr. 
Stevenson  had  been  talking  with  a number  of  men 
about  Christianity,  an  old  man  said  to  him, 
“ Teacher,  you  say  what  is  good,  but  it  is  not  all 
true.  You  say  we  have  never  seen  God.  Then 
we  can’t  have  injured  Him,  and  so  don’t  need  His 
forgiveness.” 

Above  Yun-yang  the  country  opens  out,  and  the 
verdure  and  fertility  are  most  charming.  The 
bright  red  of  the  soil,  the  fresh  green  of  the  grain 

1 Although  the  Temple  of  Chang-fei  stands  200  feet  above  the  river  at 
low  water,  the  one  which  preceded  it  was  carried  away  in  a great  flood  in 
1870,  when  the  water  actually  rose  to  the  height  of  the  present  roof.  The 
present  gorgeous  structure  cost  10,000  taels. 


247 


PAGODA  NEAR  WAN  HSIEN 


248 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

crops  and  sugar-cane,  and  the  brilliant  yellow  of 
the  rape  made  a charming  picture.  Every  now 
and  then  a noble  specimen  of  the  Ficus  religiosa, 
with  an  altar  and  incense-burner  below  it,  lent  the 
contrast  of  its  dark  green  foliage,  and  substantial 
farmhouses  of  “ Brick  Noggin,”  each  in  a clump  of 
bamboo,  and  fine  temples  in  groves  of  evergreens 
gave  an  air  of  prosperity  to  the  scene.  I was  not 
surprised  at  the  encomiums  which  previous  travel- 
lers have  bestowed  on  this  province. 

Rape  is  universally  grown  for  the  oil.  The  peo- 
ple have  neither  butter  nor  grease  for  cooking,  and 
their  diet  would  be  incomplete  without  abundance 
of  some  oily  substance.  Imported  and  native  kero- 
sene may  take  its  place  as  an  illuminant,  but  for 
cooking  purposes  it  will  be  always  grown.  In  such 
a fertile  and  beautiful  region  the  absence  of  animal 
life  is  curious.  There  is  no  pasturage,  the  roads 
are  not  made  for  draught,  and  the  cheerfulness  of 
horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  about  a farmyard  is  un- 
known. Buff  dogs,  noisy  and  cowardly,  and  the 
hideous  water  buffalo,  which  looks  like  an  antedi- 
luvian survival  and  has  a singular  aversion  to  for- 
eigners, represent  the  domestic  animals. 

We  were  delayed  considerably  by  head  winds, 
involving  much  tracking  and  rowing,  and  thumped 
a hole  in  the  boat’s  bottom  for  the  second  time,  on 


Kuei  Fu  to  Wan  Hsien  249 

which  she  filled  so  fast  that  she  had  to  be  run 
ashore  with  all  despatch,  and  the  miserable  at- 
tempts at  repair  delayed  us  for  some  hours,  as  no 
carpenter  would  work  during  the  New  Year  holi- 
days. For  the  next  twenty-eight  hours  it  took 
four  men  baling  night  and  day  to  keep  the  water 
down. 

At  a distance  of  nearly  1300  miles  from  its  mouth 
the  Yangtze  is  still  a noble  river,  nobler  yet  when 
the  summer  rise  covers  the  grand  confusions  of  its 
rocky  bed.  The  “ Gorge  of  the  Eight  Cliffs,”  a 
singular  freak  of  nature,  with  perpendicular  cliffs 
fluted  like  organ  pipes,  through  which  the  river  has 
cut  a channel,  said  by  the  boatmen  to  be  fathom- 
less, about  six  miles  long,  through  a bed  of  hard 
grey  sandstone,  detained  us  for  a long  time,  and 
was  bitterly  cold  and  draughty.  Above  in  a recess 
in  the  rock  are  carved  three  divinities  in  full  canon- 
icals, painted  and  gilded,  called  “ The  Three  Water 
Guardians.”  It  is  said  that  the  reason  that  no 
boatmen  will  move  in  the  dark  is  that  these  genii 
only  guard  the  river  by  day. 

Tiresome  rapids  detained  us  again,  and  I climbed 
a height  to  look  at  some  queer  erections,  which  are 
seen  at  intervals  of  about  three  miles,  on  elevations 
along  the  river  from  I chang  to  Chungking,  making 
a goodly  show.  They  are  white  towers,  with  a red 


250 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

sun  painted  on  the  front  of  each,  and  stand  five  in 
a row.  The  boatmen  say  that  they  are  to  mark 
distances,  but,  according  to  better  authorities  they 
are  yen-tun , or  “ smoke  towers,”  and  have  served 
the  purpose  of  giving  alarm  in  unsettled  times  by 
fires  of  dry  combustibles  within.  Apparently  they 
have  not  been  repaired  for  many  years. 

On  Ash  Wednesday,  February  19th,  in  the  after- 
noon, a fine  white,  nine-storeyed  pagoda  on  a 
bank,  and  another  on  a high  hill,  announced  the 
approach  to  a city.  The  river  was  narrowed  by  an 
insignificant  gorge,  then  came  a broad  expanse  of 
still  water  resembling  a mountain  lake,  and  then 
Wan  appeared.  That  was  one  of  the  unforgettable 
views  in  China.  The  “ Myriad  City,”  for  position 
and  appearance,  should  rank  high  among  the  cities 
of  the  world.  The  burst  of  its  beauty  as  we  came 
round  an  abrupt  corner  into  the  lake-like  basin  on 
which  it  stands,  and  were  confronted  with  a stately 
city  piled  on  cliffs  and  heights,  a wall  of  rock  on 
one  side  crowded  with  refuges  and  temples,  with 
the  broad  river  disappearing  among  mountains 
which  were  dissolving  away  in  a blue  mist,  was 
quite  overpowering. 

Its  situation  on  a sharp  bend  of  the  Yangtze, 
backed  at  a distance  of  thirty  miles  by  a range  of 
mountains — built  on  cliffs,  and  in  clusters  round 


Kuei  Fu  to  Wan  Hsien 


251 


temple  and  pagoda-crowned  hills,  and  surrounded 
by  precipitous,  truncated  peaks  of  sandstone,  from 
700  to  1500  feet  in  height,  rising  out  of  woods 
through  which  torrents  flash  in  foam,  and  from 
amidst  garden  cultivation,  and  surmounted  by  the 
picturesque,  fortified  refuges  which  are  a feature  of 
the  region — is  superb  and  impressive.  Wan  is  the 
first  of  the  prosperous  cities  of  Sze  Chuan  that  I 
saw.  It  has  doubled  its  population  and  trade  in 
twenty  years,  and  its  fine  streets  and  handsome 
shops,  stately  dwellings  within  large  grounds,  thriv- 
ing industries,  noble  charities,  and  the  fringe  of 
junks  for  over  two  miles  along  its  river  shore,  in- 
dicate a growing  prosperity  which  is  characteristic 
of  nearly  every  city  in  Sze  Chuan  which  I after- 
wards visited. 

We  tied  up  in  a crowd  of  large  junks  lying  in 
three  tiers.  Hundreds  of  coolies  were  loading  and 
unloading  them,  and  the  noise  was  deafening. 
Leaving  the  furious  babel  of  the  boatmen,  who 
were  dissatisfied  with  their  “ wine  money,”  I walked 
the  mile  up  to  the  China  Inland  Mission  house, 
partly  by  a flight  of  150  steep  stone  stairs,  and  up 
back  streets,  and  being  bare-headed  and  in  Chinese 
dress,  escaped  a very  great  crowd.  No  European 
woman  had  walked  up  through  Wan  before,  for  it 
and  its  officials  had  been  notoriously  hostile  to 


252  The  Yangtze  Valley 

foreigners,  and  Dr.  Morrison,  of  The  Times , had  been 
ill-treated  there  only  six  months  before.  I was 
much  impressed  by  the  good  paving  and  cleanliness, 
and  the  substantial  stone  dwellings  en  route. 

Arriving  at  a fine  Chinese  gateway,  with  a port- 
er’s lodge  and  an  outer  court,  along  which  are 
servant’s  quarters  and  cow  stables,  we  passed  into 
what  is  a truly  beautiful  paved  inner  court,  one  side 
a roofed-in  open  space  used  as  a chapel,  the  other 
a lofty  and  handsome  Chinese  guest-room,  as  shown 
in  the  illustration,  with  an  open  front,  and  the  liv- 
ing-rooms of  the  family.  A third  side  is  the  wo- 
men’s guest-room,  and  on  the  fourth  are  various 
rooms.  Projecting  upper  storeys  and  balconies,  all 
carving  and  fretwork,  latticed  and  carved  window- 
frames  with  paper  panes,  tall  pillars,  and  irregular 
tiled  roofs,  make  up  a striking  tout  ensemble , in  the 
midst  of  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  and  three 
ladies,  all  in  Chinese  dress,  stood  to  welcome  me. 
It  was  all  so  trim  and  handsome  that  there  was  a 
distinct  unseemliness  in  bringing  in  my  shabby 
travelling  equipments,  much  the  worse  for  two  years’ 
hard  wear,  and  I hurried  them  into  retirement  as 
soon  as  possible. 

The  house  is  beautiful  inside,  the  walls,  roofs, 
and  pillars  of  planed,  unvarnished  wood  of  a fine 
grain,  all  dovetailed  or  put  together  with  wooden 


GUEST  HALL,  WAN  HSIEN 


254 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

bolts.  Downstairs  the  large  fretwork  windows, 
opening  on  pivots,  are  above  a man’s  head.  All 
the  furniture,  with  the  exception  of  some  presents, 
is  Chinese,  and  is  at  once  simple  and  tasteful. 
Upstairs  are  a number  of  low,  irregular,  quaint 
rooms.  The  one  allotted  to  me  was  a large  one, 
with  a great  fretwork  window  into  the  court,  and 
another  with  a superb  view  of  the  city  and  down 
the  river.  It  had  access  by  a steep  step-ladder  to 
an  open  wooden  tower  with  a pagoda  roof  and 
seats  for  use  in  the  hot  weather.  This  overlooks 
the  houses  of  many  neighbours,  and  is  overlooked. 
From  it  are  to  be  seen  all  the  refuges  on  the  sur- 
rounding hill-tops,  the  circuit  of  the  city  wall, 
yamens,  temples,  and  pagodas,  the  broad  brown 
fringe  of  junks,  and  the  gleaming  silver  of  the 
Great  River. 

From  9 a.m.  till  dusk  there  was  a continuous 
stream  of  Chinese  visitors,  the  men  entering  at  one 
door  and  the  women  at  another,  and  passing  into 
their  guest-rooms,  where  they  were  separately  re- 
ceived by  Mr.  Thompson  and  Miss  Ramsay.  A 
Chinese  is  a dignified  and  sensitive  man,  and  likes 
to  be  master  of  the  situation.  He  is  miserable  in 
a foreign  house,  with  its  promiscuous  oddities,  and 
has  no  idea  where  or  on  what  to  sit,  what  position 
to  take,  and  to  what  etiquette  he  is  to  conform 


Kuei  Fu  to  Wan  Hsien 


255 


himself,  and  has  all  the  discomfort  of  a fish  out  of 
water.  In  a Chinese  guest-room,  on  the  contrary, 
there  is  an  ordered  and  rigid  stateliness.  A few 
handsome  scrolls  from  the  classics  or  pictures  dec- 
orate the  walls.  A handsome  carved  black  wood 
table  stands  against  the  wall  opposite  the  open 
front,  and  on  both  sides  of  it  are  ranged  heavy 
black  wood  chairs,  the  highest  being  next  the 
table.  Elaborate  lamps  hang  from  the  roof. 

No  matter  what  the  position  of  a Chinese  is, 
whether  he  be  mandarin,  merchant,  shopkeeper,  or 
writer,  he  is  absolutely  certain  which  chair  etiquette 
entitles  him  to  take,  and  when  tea  and  pipes  are 
produced  he  is  as  serene  and  comfortable  as  in  his 
own  house. 

At  that  time,  though  missionaries  had  been  set- 
tled at  Wan  for  some  years,  and  had  been  able  to 
rent  this  beautiful  house,  there  was  not  a Christian 
in  the  city.  The  ladies  had  only  lately  arrived,  as 
it  had  been  thought  not  a safe  place  for  them. 
Even  a month  before  my  visit  when  a deep  well 
ran  dry,  a mob  assembled  outside  the  mission-house 
threatening  to  burn  it  and  to  kill  all  the  “ foreign 
devils,”  for  they  had  tapped  the  well  and  had  stolen 
the  golden  crab  which  was  the  “ luck  ” of  the  city. 
The  mob  was  eventually  compelled  to  withdraw, 
but  the  mandarin,  who  only  left  as  I was  arriving, 


256 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

came  to  the  house  with  the  serious  charge  that  the 
inmates  had  killed  children  in  order  to  get  their  eyes, 
and  that  their  bodies  were  in  the  tanks  at  the  back  ! 

Mr.  Thompson  took  him  to  the  back,  and  the 
tanks  were  probed  with  a long  pole,  but  the  accusa- 
tion was  not  disposed  of  by  the  resultlessness  of 
the  search,  for  foreign  magic  is  believed  to  be  equal 
to  anything.  The  same  official  concerted  the  mur- 
der of  the  missionaries  with  the  elders  of  the  city, 
and  Mr.  Davies,  who  was  then  in  Wan,  was  severely 
beaten.  Compensation,  however,  was  given  him, 
which  he  bestowed  on  the  local  charities.  A new 
chief  magistrate  had  just  arrived,  with  orders  to  treat 
the  foreigners  well,  and  all  was  changed.  When  Mr. 
Thompson  called  at  the  yamen  the  mandarin  con- 
ducted him  to  the  seat  of  honour,  escorted  him  to 
his  chair  on  leaving,  and  returned  the  visit  with  a 
large  retinue  the  next  day.  Of  course,  the  Chinese 
everywhere  take  their  cue  from  the  officials. 

So  it  came  about  that  for  several  days  I was  able 
actually  to  walk  about  and  to  photograph  with  no 
worse  trouble  than  the  curiosity  of  the  people  in 
masculine  crowds  of  a thousand  or  more.  Four 
months  before  I was  told  that  this  would  have  been 
impossible.  My  camera  would  have  been  smashed, 
my  open  chair  would  have  produced  a riot,  and  I 
should  have  been  stoned  or  severely  beaten. 


Kuei  Fu  to  Wan  Hsien 


257 


The  streams  of  visitors  to  the  beautiful  guest- 
halls  never  ceased  by  daylight.  Miss  Ramsay  often 
received  forty  women  at  a time.  All  Sze  Chuan 
women  have  bound  feet,  and  all  wear  trousers  very 
much  en  Evidence,  those  of  - the  lower  class  women 
being  wrapped  round  the  ankles  and  tied,  those  of 
the  upper  class  being  wide  and  decorated.  They 
asked  hordes  of  questions  about  domestic  and  social 
matters  from  their  own  grotesquely  different  stand- 
point, and  wanted  to  hear  what  the  “Jesus  religion  ” 
was  like,  and  were  quite  unable  to  understand  how 
people  could  pray  “ unless  they  had  a god  in  the 
room.”  One  day  Miss  Ramsay,  who  had  been  for 
some  years  in  China,  explained  to  her  guests  various 
things  concerning  our  Lord’s  life  and  teaching,  and 
an  upper-class  woman,  who  seemed  intelligent  and 
interested,  explained  it  in  her  way  to  the  others. 
As  she  left,  Miss  R.  said,  “ You  ’ll  not  forget  what 
I have  told  you,”  and  she  said  very  pleasantly, 
“ Oh,  no,  I won’t ; our  gods  are  made  of  mud,  and 
yours  are  made  of  wood  ! ” 

The  ignorance  which  many  men  of  the  literary 
class  show  is  wonderful,  and  it  comes  out  freely  in 
conversations  in  the  guest-hall.  A very  grand  mil- 
itary mandarin  asserted  not  only  that  Lin  and  the 
Black  Flags  had  driven  the  Japanese  out  of  For- 
mosa, but  that  the  Straits  of  Formosa  had  yawned 


258 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


wide  in  answer  to  vows  and  prayers  addressed  to 
the  gods  by  Lin,  and  that  the  navies  of  Russia, 
England,  France,  and  Japan  had  perished  in  a 
common  destruction  in  the  vortex  ! A picture  re- 
presenting this  catastrophe  was  for  sale  in  Wan.1 

They  think  that  the  Queen  of  England  is  tribut- 
ary to  China,  that  our  Minister  is  in  Peking  to  pay 
the  tribute,  and  that  the  presents  which  the  Queen 
sent  to  the  Empress  Dowager  on  her  sixtieth  birth- 
day were  the  special  tribute  for  the  occasion. 

They  also  believed  that  the  American  commis- 
sion which  had  lately  been  at  Chengtu  for  the  pur- 
pose of  assessing  the  damage  done  to  the  property 
of  Americans  in  the  previous  riots  was  sent  to  con- 
gratulate the  new  Viceroy  on  his  appointment ! 

Also  many  of  the  literati  say — and  I had  heard 
the  same  thing  in  the  north — that  outside  of  China 
there  are  five  kingdoms  united  under  one  emperor, 
Jesus  Christ,  who  rose  from  a peasant  origin,  that 
one  is  inhabited  by  dog-faced  people,2  and  that  in 
another,  where  each  woman  has  two  husbands,  she 
has  a hole  in  her  chest,  and  that  when  they  travel 
the  husbands  put  a pole  through  it  and  carry  her ! 

1 The  volume  from  which  this  picture  was  taken  and  enlarged  was  printed 
in  Shanghai. 

2 This  term  “ dog-faced  ” apparently  does  not  bear  the  meaning  which  we 
put  on  it,  for  the  woman  in  the  illustration  with  a head-dress  of  solid  silver 
and  heavy  white  silk,  from  the  mountains  of  Fu  Kien,  is  a member  of  what 
the  Fu-Chow  Chinese  call  “dog-faced  ” tribes. 


Kuei  Fu  to  Wan  Hsien 


259 


They  also  say  that  the  missionaries  come  and  live 
in  distant  places  like  Wan  and  Paoning  in  order  to 
find  out  the  secret  of  China’s  greatness  and  the 
way  to  destroy  it  by  magic  arts.  A map  of  Asia 
hangs  in  the  guest-hall,  and  Mr.  Thompson  heard 
some  of  the  guests  saying  to  each  other  at  different 
times,  “ Look  at  these  ‘ foreign  devils,’  ” ( yang - 
kweitze ) ; “ they  put  China  small  on  the  map  to 
deceive  their  god  ! ” 

It  is  impossible  to  have  patience  with  their  ignor- 
ance because  of  their  overweening  self-conceit.  It  is 
passable  in  Africa,  but  not  in  these  men  with  their  lit- 
erary degrees,  and  their  elaborate  culture  “ of  sorts,” 
and  two  thousand  years  of  civilisation  behind  them. 

Wan  Hsien  has  a very  large  trade.  Its  shops 
are  full  of  goods,  native  and  foreign,  and  the  traffic 
from  the  interior,  as  well  as  by  junk,  is  enormous  ; 
but  there  are  no  returns,  as  it  is  not  an  open  port. 
The  actual  city, — i.  e .,  the  walled  city, — which  con- 
tains the  yamens  and  other  public  buildings,  is 
small,  steep,  and  handsome.  It  has  extended  itself 
into  large  suburbs  five  miles  in  extent,  of  which  the 
true  city  is  the  mere  nucleus.  They  straggle  along 
the  river,  high  up  on  the  cliffs  above  it,  and  two 
miles  back,  where  they  are  arrested  by  a rocky  bar- 
rier at  a height  in  which  is  excavated  and  scaffolded 
a celebrated  “Temple  of  the  Three  Religions,”  at 


260 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

the  top  of  1570  fine  stairs,  a great  place  of  pilgrim- 
age. This  back  country,  in  which  are  few  level 
acres,  is  exquisitely  cultivated,  and  is  crossed  in 
several  directions  by  flagged  pathways,  carried  over 
ascents  and  descents  by  good  stairs.  These  usu- 
ally lead  to  lovely  villages,  built  irregularly  on  tor- 
rent sides,  among  a great  variety  of  useful  trees. 

The  city  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  a river-bed, 
then  nearly  dry,  but  when  I saw  it  in  summer  it 
contained  a very  respectable  stream,  which  serves 
as  the  public  laundry.  I have  never  seen  so  beau- 
tiful a bridge  as  the  lofty,  single,  stone  arch,  with 
a house  at  the  highest  part,  which  spans  the  river- 
bed, and  which  seems  to  spring  out  of  the  rock 
without  any  visible  abutments. 

Graceful  pagodas  and  three-storeyed  pavilions 
guard  the  approaches.  The  Feng  Shui  of  Wan  is 
considered  perfect.  Rich  temples  on  heights  above 
the  river  and  the  handsome  temple  called  Chung- 
ku-lo  (Drum  and  Bell  Lodge),  overlooking  the 
small  gorge  below,  with  a large  stage,  under  a fine 
three-storeyed  pavilion,  for  the  performance  of  the 
religious  dramas,  show  that  “ The  Three  Religions  ” 
retain  their  hold  on  the  people.  The  wealth  of 
vegetation  is  wonderful.  Not  a barren  or  arid  spot 
is  to  be  seen  from  the  water’s  edge  to  the  mountain 
summits,  which  are  the  limits  of  vision.  The  shiny 


Kuei  Fu  to  Wan  Hsien 


261 


orange  foliage,  the  dark,  formal  cypress,  the  loquat 
and  pomegranate,  the  gold  of  the  plumed  bamboo, 
the  deep  green  of  sugar-cane,  the  freshness  of  the 


advancing  grain  crops,  and  the  drapery  of  clematis 
and  maidenhair  on  trees  and  rocks  all  delight  the 
eyes.  But  the  uniqueness  of  the  neighbourhood 
of  Wan  consists  in  the  number  of  its  truncated 
sandstone  hills,  each  bearing  on  its  flat  top  a pic- 
turesque walled  white  village  and  fortification,  to 
be  a city  of  refuge  in  times  of  rebellion.  These, 
rising  out  of  a mass  of  greenery,  with  a look  of  in- 
accessibility about  them,  are  a silent  reference  to 
unpleasant  historic  facts  which  distinguish  Wan 
from  other  cities. 


262 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

It  is  not  alone  that  junks  fringe  the  shores,  but 
they  are  very  largely  built  at  Wan,  for  the  passage 
of  the  rapids,  of  a convenient  material — the  tough, 
formal  cypress  which  grows  on  the  adjacent  hills. 
They  must  be  at  once  light  and  strong,  and  more 
disposed  to  bend  than  to  break.  Many  of  their 
fittings  have  a local  origin  and  many  rich  junk 
builders  and  junk  owners  live  at  Wan. 

Foreign  goods  go  up  the  river  to  Chungking,  the 
westernmost  treaty  port,  from  twelve  to  twenty 
days  higher  up  the  river,  and  come  down  again  to 
Wan.  “The  Province  of  the  Four  Streams”  does 
not  produce  much  cotton  ; and  cotton  yarn  from 
Japan  and  India  comes  in  large  quantities  into 
Wan  to  be  woven  there.  In  1898  there  were  1000 
handlooms.  The  cotton  is  woven  into  pieces  about 
thirty  feet  long  and  sixteen  inches  broad,  which 
take  a man  two  days’  labour,  from  daylight  till 
9 p.m.,  to  weave.  A weaver’s  wages  with  food 
come  to  about  600  cash,  at  present  about  ij-.  6 d.  per 
week  of  six  days.  Can  Lancashire  compete  with 
this  in  anything  but  the  output  ? 


CHAPTER  XVII 


CHINESE  CHARITIES 


S Moslems  regard  almsgiving  as  one  of  the 


jlY  “gates  of  heaven,”  and  practise  it  to  a very 
remarkable  extent,  so  the  Chinese  have  placed 
benevolence  foremost  on  the  list  of  the  “ Five 
Constant  Virtues.”  The  character  which  denotes 
it  is  said  by  the  learned  to  be  composed  of  the 
symbols  for  man  and  two , by  which  is  somewhat 
obscurely  indicated,  on  the  principle  of  the  spark 
being  the  result  of  the  contact  of  flint  with  steel, 
that  benevolence  should  result  from  the  contact  of 
two  human  beings. 

That  this  is  so  in  China  is  not  the  impression 
which  the  facts  of  daily  life  produce,  and  the 
popular  view  taken  of  Chinese  character  in  this 
country  is  that  it  is  cruel,  brutal,  heartless,  and 

1 The  charities  of  China  have  been  several  times  alluded  to,  and  it  seems 
fitting  before  leaving  Wan  Hsien,  where  they  are  both  numerous  and 
active,  to  devote  a special  chapter  to  them.  The  sketch  is  an  imperfect 
and  limited  one,  but  it  may  help  to  point  the  way  to  a field  of  very  interest- 
ing inquiry. 


263 


264  The  Yangtze  Valley 

absolutely  selfish  and  unconcerned  about  human 
misery.  Among  supporters  of  foreign  missions 
this  opinion  would  be  found  nearly  universal ; and, 
indeed,  I have  heard  the  non-existence  of  benevol- 
ence in  the  vast  non-Christian  empire  of  China 
brought  forward  as  an  argument  in  favour  of  such 
missions.  So  saturated  is  our  atmosphere  with 
the  belief  that  the  only  charitable  institutions  in 
China  are  those  founded  by  Protestant  and  Cath- 
olic missionaries,  that  nothing  surprised  me  more 
than  to  find  that  the  reverse  is  the  case.  Among 
the  many  intelligent  and  frivolous  questions  which 
have  been  put  to  me  since  I returned,  the  one, 
“Have  the  Chinese  any  charities?”  has  not  been 
among  them.  It  has  been  reserved  for  mission- 
aries, and  specially  the  late  Rev.  D.  Hill,  of  Han- 
kow, and  the  Rev.  W.  Lawton,  of  Chinkiang,  to 
bring  this  most  interesting  subject  under  the  no- 
tice of  readers.  The  Rev.  Arthur  Smith  gives 
a chapter  of  his  clever  and  attractive  book,  Chinese 
Characteristics , to  the  same  subject,  and  Dr.  Wells 
Williams  glances  at  it  very  briefly  in  The  Middle 
Kingdom  ; but  few  out  of  the  many  lay  writers  on 
China  have  touched  upon  it.  On  my  first  visit, 
in  1878,  Dr.  Henry,  of  Canton,  pointed  out  to 
me  asylums  or  almshouses  for  the  blind,  and  for 
aged  persons  without  sons  ; and  on  my  recent 


Chinese  Charities 


265 


visits,  following  this  lead,  I made  such  inquiries  as 
were  practicable  on  this  subject,  and  now  venture 
to  present  my  too  scanty  notes  to  my  readers. 

I have  already  remarked  that  the  facts  which  lie 
on  the  surface  of  Chinese  daily  life  do  not  give  the 
impression  of  strong  benevolent  instincts.  Wounded 
men  are  stripped  of  their  uniforms  and  are  left 
to  perish  on  battlefields,  because  “wounded  men 
are  no  use.”  The  ablest  Chinese  general  in  the 
late  war  wished  to  buy  machine  guns  without  the 
protective  “ mantle  ” at  the  consequently  reduced 
price,  and  on  being  told  by  the  German  agent  that 
this  would  risk  a great  sacrifice  of  life  coolly  replied, 
“We’ve  plenty  of  men.”  Yet  this  same  man  was 
most  generous  to  the  poor,  established  soup- 
kitchens  in  Mukden,  his  city,  every  winter,  supplied 
the  hospital  with  ice  for  the  patients,  and,  even  in 
the  hurry  of  the  last  evening  before  he  started 
with  his  brigade  for  the  fatal  field  of  Phyong-yang, 
arranged  that  the  hospital  should  be  supplied  with 
ice  during  his  absence. 

I have  known  a number  of  coolies  refuse  to  get 
water  from  a river  a few  yards  off  to  assuage  the 
burning  thirst  of  an  apparently  dying  man  of  their 
number,  who  had  carried  a burden  by  their  side 
for  a fortnight,  and  had  shared  their  hardships,  on 
the  ground  that  he  was  “ no  more  any  good,”  and 


266 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

several  similar  instances,  and  what  they  do  not 
practise  themselves  they  fail  to  understand  in 
others.  I have  been  jeered  at  as  a fool  for  laying 
a wet  cloth  on  the  brow  of  a man  who  had  served 
me  for  some  time  and  fell  out  on  the  road  seriously 
ill,  and  yet  more  for  having  him  carried  in  my 
chair  rather  than  leave  him  to  die  on  a mountain- 
side. On  another  occasion  in  Sze  Chuan,  when 
I left  my  chair  and  walked  up  a part  of  the  colossal 
staircase  by  which  the  road  is  carried  over  the 
Pass  of  Shen  Kia-chao,  my  bearers  showed  the  con- 
struction they  put  on  my  doing  so  by  asking, 
“ Does  the  foreign  woman  think  us  not  strong 
enough  to  carry  her?”  Men  of  the  lower  class 
interpret  ordinary  humanity  and  consideration  as 
arising  from  dread  of  them,  and  the  traveller  is 
daily  coming  across  instances  which  look  very  like 
brutality,  and  most  foreign  residents  speak  of  the 
Chinese  as  cruel  and  brutal 

Some  writers,  especially  the  author  of  Chinese 
Characteristics , while  admitting  the  existence  of 
charities  on  a large  scale,  detract  from  the  admira- 
tion which  such  works  of  benevolence  would  natur- 
ally command  by  pointing  out  that  they  are  regarded 
as  “practising  virtue,”  and  are  considered  to  be  a 
means  of  “ accumulating  merit,”  and  in  fact  that 
the  object  generally  in  view  is  “ not  the  benefit  of 


Chinese  Charities 


2 67 


the  person  on  whom  the  ‘ benevolence  ’ terminates, 
but  the  extraction  from  the  benefit  conferred  of  a 
return  benefit  for  the  giver.”  The  Chinese  are 
perhaps  the  most  practical  people  on  earth,  and  a 
curious  system  of  moral  bookkeeping  adopted  by 
many  shows  this  feature  of  the  national  character 
in  a very  curious  light.  There  are  books  inculcat- 
ing the  practice  of  “ virtue,”  and  in  these  a regular 
debtor  and  creditor  accounts  is  opened,  in  which 
an  individual  charges  himself  with  all  his  bad  acts 
and  credits  himself  with  all  his  good  ones,  and  the 
balance  between  the  two  exhibits  his  moral  position 
at  any  given  time. 

Mr.  A.  Smith  is  a very  acute  observer,  and  has 
had  lengthened  opportunities  of  observation,  and 
his  conclusions  as  to  the  motives  for  benevolence 
must  be  received  with  respect.  May  it  not,  how- 
ever, be  hinted  that  an  equally  acute  observer  set- 
ting himself  to  dissect  motives  for  largesse  to 
charities  after  a residence  of  some  years  in  Eng- 
land would  consider  himself  warranted  in  referring 
a very  considerable  proportion  of  our  benevolence 
to  motives  less  worthy  than  the  desire  to  “accumu- 
late merit  ” ? 

The  problem  of  “ the  poor,  and  how  to  deal  with 
them,”  has  received,  and  is  receiving,  various  solu- 
tions in  China,  and  probably  there  is  not  a city 


268 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

without  one  or  more  organisations  for  the  relief  of 
permanent  and  special  needs.  Foundlings,  orphans, 
blind  persons,  the  aged,  strangers,  drowning  per- 
sons, the  destitute,  the  dead,  and  various  other 
classes  are  objects  of  organised  benevolence.  The 
methods  are  not  our  methods,  but  they  are  none 
the  less  praiseworthy. 

The  care  of  the  dead  is  imperative  on  every 
Chinese,  but  poverty  steps  in,  a coffin  is  an  unat- 
tainable luxury,  and  without  help  a proper  inter- 
ment is  impossible.  Hence  in  all  cities  there  are 
benevolent  guilds  which  supply  coffins  for  those 
whose  relations  are  too  poor  to  buy  them,  and  bury 
such  in  free  cemeteries,  providing,  according  to 
Chinese  notions,  all  the  accessories  of  a respectable 
funeral,  with  suitable  offerings  and  the  attendance 
of  priests.  Human  bones  which  have  become  ex- 
posed from  any  cause  are  collected  and  reburied 
with  suitable  dignity,  and  bodies  which  have  re- 
mained for  years  in  coffins  above  ground  waiting 
for  the  geomancers  to  decide  on  an  auspicious  day 
for  the  funeral,  until  all  the  relations  are  dead  and 
the  coffins  are  falling  into  decay,  are  supplied  with 
new  ones,  and  are  suitably  interred. 

A Chinese  is  all  his  life  thinking  of  his  burial 
and  the  ancestral  rites.  Among  a people  to 
whom  a creditable  interment  means  so  much,  the 


CHINESE  BURIAL  CHARITY 


270 


The  Yangtze  Valley- 

generous  way  in  which  these  benevolent  obsequies 
are  conducted  does  more  than  we  can  understand 
to  remove  the  bitterness  of  mourning.  The  accom- 
panying illustration  shows  a neat  “ chapel  ” with  a 
well-kept  cemetery,  where  bones  have  been  gath- 
ered, those  of  individuals  being  placed  together,  so 
far  as  indications  allow  of  it,  under  neat  coverings 
of  concrete. 

In  the  great  city  of  Chinkiang  there  are  an  or- 
phan asylum  and  benevolent  institute  for  girls,  with 
five  receiving  offices,  and  a boarding-out  as  well  as 
an  asylum  system,  a benevolent  institute  with  eighty 
boys  above  six,  who  are  apprenticed  when  old 
enough,  with  five-  teachers  in  charge,  and  twenty 
free  day  schools  for  about  three  hundred  boys, 
whose  harsh  voices,  pitched  high,  may  be  heard 
twanging  at  the  wisdom  of  the  Chinese  classics. 

Among  the  Chinkiang  benevolent  plans  for  adults 
there  is  one,  well  managed,  of  inestimable  advant- 
age to  the  struggling  farmer  or  merchant — “ The 
Bureau  for  Advancing  Funds.”  From  it  a poor 
man  with  security  can  borrow  from  1000  to  5000 
cash  ($1  to  $5),  which  must  be  repaid  in  one  hun- 
dred days  by  payments  made  every  five  days.  He 
can  borrow  again  up  to  a fourth  time. 

There  are  two  free  dispensaries,  with  nine  doc- 
tors in  charge.  They  are  open  without  fees  every 


Chinese  Charities 


271 


day,  treating  about  200  patients,  who  are  not  re- 
quired to  pay  for  their  medicines.  The  Life-saving 
Institution,  with  a head  office  and  two  or  three 
minor  offices,  has  six  well-equipped,  well-manned 
boats  always  on  the  river  near  the  port,  and  ten 
others  dodging  about  above  and  below.  I was  in 
the  steamer  Cores  de  Vries  when  she  cut  down  the 
s.s.  Hoi-how  to  the  water’s  edge  abreast  of  Chinki- 
ang,  and  I can  answer  for  the  trained  alacrity  with 
which  several  of  these  boats  were  at  once  on  the 
spot,  remaining  by  the  Cores  de  Vries  even  after 
she  was  run  ashore.  Their  work  is  not  only  to 
save  the  drowning,  but  to  remove  dead  bodies  from 
the  water,  and  these  are  afterwards  buried  with 
seemly  rites  by  the  society  in  a well-kept  private 
cemetery  on  the  hill  in  which  it  has  interred  175 
rescued  corpses  within  the  last  ten  years.  There 
is  a free  ferry,  with  thirteen  big  boats  for  crossing 
the  ofttimes  stormy  and  dangerous  Yangtze,  which 
saves  many  lives  of  those  who  would  otherwise  be 
drowned  by  ferrying  in  cheap  and  unseaworthy  craft. 
This  is  the  richest  of  the  benevolent  institutions. 

It  is  interesting  to  learn  how  the  actual  beggars, 
who  trade  upon  sympathy  by  their  filthiness,  de- 
formities, and  sores,  are  treated.  A Beggar  s Re- 
fuge and  a Home  for  the  Aged  exist  for  the  same 
class.  The  Beggar’s  Refuge  was  begun  by  a former 


272  The  Yangtze  Valley 

Taoti.  Of  its  ninety  inmates  about  nine  are  wo- 
men. It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  it  should  be 
clean  or  sweet.  I have  seen  one  in  another  city 
which  receives  five  hundred.  The  beggars  are  re- 
quired to  bring  their  clothes  and  wadded  quilts 
with  them,  but  all  else  is  furnished,  and  in  winter 
outsiders  also  receive  rice  there.  Most  of  the  in- 
mates, unless  disqualified  by  age  or  disease,  spend 
their  days  begging  in  the  streets. 

The  rich  merchants  subscribe  to  keep  up  a win- 
ter “ soup  kitchen ,”  which  feeds  about  a thousand 
people  daily  with  rice,  at  a cost  of  thirty  dollars  a 
day,  during  the  three  coldest  months.  Besides  this 
the  General  Benevolent  Institution  dispenses  medi- 
cines during  the  summer,  and  rice  tickets  during 
the  winter,  and  has  charge  of  the  “ Invalid  Home,” 
and  also  provides  coffins  for  the  dead  poor.  This 
society  is  richly  endowed  with  land,  owning  3000 
mow } The  original  280  mow  came  from  the  priests 
on  Golden  Island. 

Widows  are  not  forgotten.  Two  associations 
take  them  in  charge  : the  Widows’  Relief  Society 
and  the  Widows'  Home.  The  former  has  only 
funds  sufficient  for  300  pensioners,  the  lists  being 
filled  up  as  deaths  occur.  The  latter  is  connected 
with  the  Boys'  Orphanage , and  provides  a home, 

1 A mow,  roughly  speaking,  is  about  one-seventh  of  an  acre. 


Chinese  Charities 


2 73 


food  and  clothes  for  200  widows.  After  once  enter- 
ing they  are  not  allowed  to  go  out  unless  offered  a 
respectable  home  by  a friend,  or  unless  a son  has 
grown  to  man’s  estate.  Any  results  of  the  sale  of 
plain  or  fancy  needlework  are  returned  to  the 
worker.  This  care  of  widows  marks  a great  ad- 
vance in  China  on  the  practice  in  India  and  some 
other  Eastern  countries. 

There  are  several  free  cemeteries  outside  the  city, 
and  one  of  recent  origin  for  children,  with  a wall 
six  feet  high  surrounding  it,  and  a keeper  in  charge, 
in  which  2000  children  have  been  buried  in  the  last 
four  years.  In  Mukden  I first  became  familiar  with 
the  custom,  the  growth  of  a superstitious  belief, 
not  of  lack  of  maternal  feeling,  of  rolling  up  the 
bodies  of  children  in  matting  and  “ throwing  them 
away,”  i.e.,  putting  the  bundle  where  the  dogs  can 
devour  the  corpse,  as  a sort  of  offering  to  the 
“ Heavenly  Dog,”  which  is  supposed  to  eat  the  sun 
at  an  eclipse.  When  foreigners  began  to  settle  in 
the  Yangtze  treaty  ports  it  came  to  be  currently 
believed  that  they  asserted  a claim  against  the  dogs 
for  these  bodies,  of  which  they  “take  out  the  eyes 
and  the  hearts  to  make  medicine.”  This  was  too 
much  ; hence  this  well-walled  cemetery  was  pro- 
vided. This  accusation  against  foreigners,  which 
is  a frequent  cause  of  anti-foreign  riots,  is  current 

18 


274  The  Yangtze  Valley 

everywhere  in  the  Yangtze  Valley.  I met  with  it 
in  its  worst  form  so  far  west  as  Kuan  Hsien,  on 
the  Upper  Min,  and  an  angry  cry  of  “Another 
child-eater  ! ” was  frequently  raised  against  myself 
as  I passed  through  the  towns  of  Sze  Chuan.  This 
goodly  list  does  not  exhaust  the  native  charities  of 
the  first  treaty  port  on  the  Yangtze.1 

I have  dwelt  in  detail  on  the  charities  of  Chin- 
kiang  because  they  are  typical  of  those  of  other 
great  cities  ; but  the  variety  throughout  the  country 
is  infinite,  and  includes  many  associations  merely 
for  the  relief  of  suffering.  In  Wuhu  a Life-saving 
Association  was  established  in  1874,  with  which 
have  been  associated,  under  the  same  managing 
staff,  a gratuitous  Coffin  Association , to  help  the 
very  poor  to  inter  their  relatives  decently,  and  a 
Free  Ferry  Association,  with  big,  well-found  boats, 
to  prevent  the  poor  from  risking  their  lives  by 
crossing  the  Yangtze  in  small  sampans.  Large 
and  substantial  offices  indicate  the  generous  sup- 
port given  to  the  Lifeboat  Association,  with  which 
are  united  a Humane  Society  for  restoring  life  to 
persons  rescued  from  the  water,  and  other  kindred 
benevolent  associations.  This  society,  which  has 

1 I am  indebted  for  most  of  the  foregoing  to  Mr.  W.  R.  Carles,  lately 
H.  B.  M.’s  consul  at  Chinkiang,  and  to  the  very  careful  investigations 
made  by  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Lawton  for  the  Christian  Literary  Association  of 
Chinkiang. 


Chinese  Charities 


275 


societies  affiliated  to  it,  and  apparently  under  the 
same  rules,  at  many  of  the  riverine  towns,  has  four 
lifeboats  at  Wuhu,  about  fifty  feet  long,  ten  broad, 
and  fourteen  tons  burden,  well  manned  and  handled, 
able  to  face  any  weather,  with  crews  under  strict 
discipline,  and  ready  to  sally  forth  at  a signal.  They 
cruise  up  and  down  the  river  aiding  junks  in  dis- 
tress, rescuing  the  drowning,  and  recovering  bodies 
for  burial. 

If  a rescued  man  is  a stranger  and  destitute,  he 
receives  the  loan  of  dry  clothing,  and  shelter  for 
three  days ; if  he  is  ill,  he  has  shelter  and  medical 
attendance  so  long  as  he  requires  them.  Such 
destitute  rescued  persons  are  supplied  with  twenty 
cents  for  each  thirty-three  miles  of  their  journey 
home.  A recovered  corpes  is  reported  by  the  society 
to  the  authorities,  who  take  charge  of  any  property 
recovered  with  it  until  the  relations  are  found.  It 
is  decently  buried,  and  the  usual  ceremonial  for  the 
dead  is  provided  at  stated  seasons. 

This  society  publishes  its  rules  and  accounts 
annually  for  general  information.  Its  offices  were 
built  by  donations  from  merchants.  It  receives  a 
subscription  of  fifty  taels  a month  from  the  inland 
customs,  and  its  other  funds  are  subscriptions, 
rentals  of  donated  lands,  and  contributions  of  rice. 
The  society  has  always  a good  balance  in  hand. 


276  The  Yangtze  Valley 

Besides  wages,- it  pays  at  Wuhu  and  the  different 
sub-stations  to  the  boatmen  a reward  of  1000  cash , 
or  about  a dollar,  for  every  life  saved,  and  from 
300  to  500  cash  for  every  corpse. 

Another  charity  also  provides  coffins  for  destitute 
persons,  and  mat-shelters,  often  sadly  needed,  for 
burned-out  families,  and  medical  aid  for  the  sick. 
This  is  supported  chiefly  by  subscriptions  from 
shopkeepers  and  gifts  of  coffin  wood. 

A few  years  ago  the  Taotai,  with  the  leading 
“ gentry  ” and  merchants,  established  an  asylum 
for  foundlings  and  the  children  of  destitute  parents, 
which  has  gradually  come  to  include  a charity 
school,  an  almshouse  for  aged  and  invalid  poor,  and 
a free  hospital. 

Kukiang  has  several  similar  institutions,  includ- 
ing a Humane  and  Life-saving  Institution , estab- 
lished by  tea  and  opium  merchants  with  the  funds 
of  their  guilds.  In  Hankow  there  are  more  than 
twenty  charities,  supported  at  a cost  of  about  100,- 
000  dollars  annually.  At  Wan  Hsien,  above  the 
gorges  and  the  worst  rapids,  there  are  very  noble 
charities,  some  of  them  carried  on  by  the  Scholars’ 
Guild  and  the  head  men  of  the  city,  and  others 
by  private  individuals.  Among  these  are  soup 
kitchens  and  large  donations  of  rice  to  the  poor  in 
winter,  and  in  the  first  month  (February)  allow- 


Chinese  Charities 


277 


ances  of  rice  and  money  to  about  fifty  old  people, 
and  gifts  of  1600  cash  each  to  about  100  poor 
widows.  The  Scholars’  Guild  also  supports  a 
foundling  hospital.  I cannot  overlook  the  noble 
benevolence  of  Hsing-fuh-sheo,  a Wan  merchant, 
not  exceptionally  wealthy,  who,  at  a cost  of  over 
8000  dollars  a year,  supports  two  dispensaries  and 
a drug  store,  forty  free  schools,  five  preachers  of  the 
Sacred  Edict,  and,  besides,  provides  clothing  and 
coffins  for  the  dead  poor,  and  wadded  garments  for 
the  destitute  in  winter.1 

Among  many  other  ways  of  showing  benevolence 
is  the  provision  of  free  vaccination  to  all  who  will 
apply  for  it  ; drugs  and  plasters  are  given  by  some 
to  all  applicants,  and  books  known  as  “ Virtue 
Books  ” are  given  away  by  others,  or  are  exposed 
for  sale  at  less  than  cost  price.  There  are  small 
associations  for  providing  the  neat,  canopied,  stone 
furnace  which  are  seen  in  all  cities  and  many 
country  places,  for  the  burning  of  paper  on  which 
are  written  characters.  Originally  no  doubt  this 
practice  was  established  to  prevent  any  defilement 
of  the  sacred  names  of  Buddha  and  Confucius, 
but  a sanctity  has  come  to  attach  to  all  written 
paper,  owing  to  the  great  reverence  of  the  Chinese 

1 For  these  very  interesting  facts  regarding  Wan,  I am  indebted  to  my 
host  there,  Mr.  Thompson,  of  the  China  Inland  Mission.  Statistics  are  not 
available. 


278  The  Yangtze  Valley 

for  literature,  and  paper  is  no  longer  collected  by 
the  priests,  but  by  men  paid  by  these  societies  for 
the  purpose,  who  go  round  with  bamboo  tongs  and 
bottle-mouthed  baskets,  rescuing  the  characters 
from  desecration.  The  benevolence  is  not  apparent 
to  me,  although  the  societies  which  undertake  this 
work  bear  the  name  Mutual  Charitable  Institutions. 

Among  other  good  works  are  the  charitably 
aided  provincial  clubs  for  the  care  of  those  who 
become  destitute  at  a distance  from  home,  and  who 
without  such  aid  could  not  return,  or  who,  having 
died  afar  from  relatives,  could  not  otherwise  be 
taken  home  for  burial.  Among  temporary  charities 
partly  Government-aided,  but  very  much  supported 
by  private  liberality,  are  the  vast  soup  kitchens, 
very  completely  organised,  which,  on  occasions 
of  flood  or  famine,  extend  their  benevolent  and 
often  judicious  work  over  the  whole  afflicted  region, 
and  save  thousands  of  lives.  Then  there  are  large 
donations  of  wadded  winter  clothing  and  wadded 
sleeping  quilts  made  every  year  to  the  destitute ; 
and  societies,  something  in  the  nature  of  charitably 
aided  savings  banks,  for  the  twin  objects  of  enabling 
men  to  marry  and  to  bury  their  parents  credit- 
ably. 

Much  kindness  of  a kind  is  shown  to  the  streams 
of  refugees  who  in  bad  years  swarm  all  over  parts 


Chinese  Charities 


279 


of  China,  in  allowing  them  to  camp  with  their  fami- 
lies in  barns  and  sheds,  often  giving  them  an  even- 
ing meal.  Enormous  gifts  are  made  to  beggars, 
who,  in  all  the  large  cities,  are  organised  into  such 
powerful  guilds  that  they  can  coerce  rather  than 
plead,  and  can  ensure  that  a steady  stream  of  char- 
ity shall  flow  in  their  direction.  In  the  case  of  both 
refugees  and  beggars,  a prudent  dread  of  the  con- 
sequences of  refusal  is  doubtless  answerable  for 
much  of  what  poses  as  charity,  and  in  this  the 
Chinese  and  the  Englishman  are  probably  near  of 
kin. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  which  brings  addi- 
tional evidence  of  the  strong  tendency  to  organise 
which  exists  among  the  Chinese,  I will  mention  a 
few  of  the  methods  in  which  individuals  carry  out 
benevolent  instincts  or  seek  to  “accumulate  merit.” 
A Buddhist  on  a river  bank  pays  a fisherman  for 
the  whole  contents  of  his  plunge-net,  and  returns 
the  silver  heap  to  the  water ; another  buys  a num- 
ber of  caged  birds,  and  lets  them  fly.  Some  build 
sheds  over  roads,  and  provide  them  with  seats  for 
weary  travellers ; others  make  a road  over  a diffi- 
cult pass,  or  build  a bridge,  or  provide  a free  ferry 
for  the  poor  and  their  cattle.  A few  men  club 
together  to  provide  free  soup  or  tea  for  travellers, 
and  erect  a shed,  putting  in  an  old  widow  to  keep 


28q 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

the  water  boiling ; or  two  or  three  priests,  with  the 
avowed  object  of  securing  merit,  do  the  same  thing 
at  a temple  ; others  provide  seats  for  wayfarers  on 
a steep  hill.  Some  provide  lamps  glazed  with  thin 
layers  of  oyster  shells  fitted  into  a wooden  frame- 
work, and  either  hang  them  from  posts  or  fit  them 
into  recesses  in  pillars  to  warn  travellers  by  night 
of  dangerous  places  on  the  roads. 

I put  forward  my  opinion  on  the  subject  of 
Chinese  benevolence  with  much  diffidence,  laying 
the  motive  of  the  accumulation  of  merit  on  one 
side.  The  Chinese  obviously  fail  in  acts  of  unself- 
ishness and  personal  kindliness  and  good-will. 
Their  works  of  merit  are  very  much  on  a large 
scale,  for  the  benefit  of  human  beings  in  masses, 
the  individual  being  lost  sight  of.  They  involve 
little  personal,  wholesome  contact  between  the 
giver  and  receiver,  out  of  which  love  and  gratitude 
may  grow,  and  no  personal  self-denial,  and  in  these 
respects  place  themselves  on  a par  with  much  of 
our  easy  charity  by  proxy  at  home. 

It  was  a great  surprise  to  me,  as  it  will  be  to  the 
more  thoughtful  among  my  readers,  to  find  that 
organised  charity  on  so  large  a scale  exists  in 
China.  Among  its  defects,  in  addition  to  the  lack, 
before  mentioned,  of  kindly  individual  contact,  are 
the  neglect  to  foster  independence  by  painstaking 


Chinese  Charities 


281 


methods,  and  the  system  of  peculation  from  which 
even  benevolent  funds  do  not  escape,  though  it 
must  be  added  that  many  Chinese  gentlemen  give 
much  valuable  time  to  securing  their  honest  and 
efficient  management. 

I have  not  been  able  to  learn  whether  the  bene- 
volent instincts  of  Chinese  women  find  any  outlet. 
I have  been  asked  by  one  to  give  some  straw  plait- 
ing to  a poor  widow  to  do,  and  by  another  lady  to 
employ  an  indigent  woman  in  embroidering  satin 
shoes.  I have  heard  of  ladies  inviting  old  and  poor 
women  to  tea  once  a week,  and  even  oftener  ; and 
Mr.  A.  Smith  narrates  one  such  instance. 

It  must  be  remarked  that  in  China  certain  seri- 
ous consequences  may  befall  a man  who  performs 
an  act  of  kindness  individually,  and  that  a dread  of 
such  a mishap  renders  men  exceedingly  reluctant 
to  give  aid  and  to  save  life  under  some  circum- 
stances. This  possibility  is  apt  to  make  the  Chinese 
wary  as  to  doing  kindnesses  personally.  A mis- 
sionary tells  how  a medical  missionary  living  in 
one  of  the  central  provinces  was  asked  by  some  na- 
tive gentlemen  to  restore  the  sight  of  a beggar  who 
was  totally  blind  from  cataract.  The  operation 
was  successfully  performed,  but  when  the  man  re- 
gained his  sight  the  same  gentlemen  came  to  the 
operator  and  told  him  that,  as  by  the  cure  he  had 


282 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

destroyed  the  beggar’s  sole  means  of  livelihood,  it 
was  then  his  duty  to  compensate  him  by  taking  him 
into  his  service  ! 

In  conclusion,  the  Chinese  classics  teach  bene- 
volence : charity  is  required  as  a proof  of  sincere 
goodness  ; the  Buddhist  religious  writings  inculcate 
relief  of  sick  persons  and  compassion  to  the  poor, 
and  the  worship  of  the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  an  in- 
creasingly popular  cult  in  China,  tends  in  the  same 
humane  direction.  It  must  be  remembered  also 
that  the  divinities  worshipped  in  China  are  not 
monsters  of  cruelty  and  incarnations  of  evil,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  that  they  may  be  credited  with  some 
of  the  virtues,  and  among  them  that  of  benevolence. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FROM  WAN  HSIEN  TO  SAN  TSAN-PU 

FINDING  that  it  was  impossible  for  any  Euro- 
pean to  accompany  me,  I decided  to  venture 
on  the  journey  of  300  miles  to  Paoning  Fu  alone, 
and  to  buy  my  own  experience.  The  land  journey 
developed  into  one  of  about  1200  miles,  and  was 
accomplished  with  one  serious  mishap  and  one 
great  disappointment.  It  was  interesting  through- 
out, and  taught  me  much  of  the  ways  of  the  people, 
and  the  scenery  alone  would  have  repaid  me  for 
the  hardships,  which  were  many.  My  greatest 
difficulty  consisted  in  having  to  disinter  all  informa- 
tion about  the  route  and  the  industries  and  customs 
of  the  people,  through  the  medium  of  two  lan- 
guages, out  of  the  capacities  of  persons  who  neither 
observed  nor  thought  accurately,  nor  were  accus- 
tomed to  impart  what  they  knew : who  were  used 
to  telling  lies,  and  to  whom  I could  furnish  no  rea- 
sons for  telling  the  truth,  while  they  might  have 
several  for  deceiving  me  on  some  points.  This 

283 


284  The  Yangtze  Valley 

digging  into  obtuseness  and  cunning  is  the  hardest 
part  of  a traveller’s  day.  So  far  as  I could  make 
out  before  or  since  my  journey,  no  British  traveller 
or  missionary  has  published  an  account  of  the 
country  between  Wan  Hsien,  on  the  Yangtze,  and 
Kuan  Hsien,  north  of  the  Chengtu  Plain,  nor  can 
I find  among  the  very  valuable  consular  reports,  to 
which  I cannot  too  often  express  my  debt,  one 
which  has  done  for  this  region  of  Central  Sze 
Chuan  what  Mr.  Litton,  of  the  consular  service  at 
Chungking,  has  lately  done  so  admirably  for 
Northern  Sze  Chuan.  Consequently,  on  the  greater 
part  of  my  four  months’  journey  I had  nothing  by 
which  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  facts  which  I 
supposed  myself  to  have  obtained.1 

The  longer  one  travels  the  fewer  preparations 
one  makes,  and  the  smaller  is  one’s  kit.  I got 
nothing  at  Wan  except  a large  sheet  doubly  oiled 
with  boiled  linseed  oil,  and  some  additional  curry 
powder,  kindly  furnished  by  my  kind  hosts  from 
boxes  of  tinned  eatables,  sauces,  arrowroot,  and  in- 
valid comforts,  which  had  just  arrived,  and  the  like 
of  which  were  annually  delivered,  carriage  free,  at 
the  door  of  every  China  Inland  missionary,  however 

1 I must  also  mention,  in  extenuation  of  sundry  faults  of  which  I am  con- 
scious, that  I went  to  Western  China  solely  for  interest  and  pleasure,  and 
not  with  any  intention  of  writing  a book,  and  that,  instead  of  having  care- 
ful and  copious  notes,  I have  only  journal  letters  to  rely  upon. 


From  Wan  Hsien  to  San  Tsan-Pu  285 


remote,  sent  by  the  late  Mr.  Morton,  of  Aber- 
deen, a thoughtful  gift,  of  great  value  to  the 
recipients.  The  reader  may  be  amused  to  learn 
the  singular  monotony  of  my  diet.  I had  a cup  of 
tea  made  from  “ tabloids,”  and  a plate  of  boiled 
flour,  every  morning  before  starting,  tea  on  arriv- 
ing, and  for  146  days,  at  seven,  curried  fowl  or 
eggs  with  rice.  I got  another  Chinese  cotton  cos- 
tume and  some  straw  shoes,  and  for  any  other 
needs  trusted  to  supplying  them  on  the  way. 

My  servant  had  made  himself  persistently  dis- 
agreeable from  the  beginning,  and  though  a su- 
perior, fairly  educated,  and  handsome  man,  he 
seemed  helpless,  useless,  lazy,  unwilling,  and  ob- 
jectionable all  round.  The  impression  of  my  hosts 
and  myself  was  that  he  wished  to  annoy  me  into 
sending  him  back  from  Wan,  and  Mr.  Thompson 
thought  that  he  would  make  my  journey  very 
difficult  and  unpleasant ; but  the  choice  lay  be- 
tween giving  it  up  on  the  threshold  and  taking  him, 
and  I chose  the  latter. 

As  the  guest  of  a European,  all  the  difficulties  of 
arranging,  bargaining,  and  paying  are  lifted  off  one 
and  put  upon  a teacher  or  servant  who  is  used  to 
them,  and  after  much  chaffering  a bargain  was  con- 
cluded by  which  three  chair-bearers  and  four  coolies 
were  to  take  me  and  my  baggage  to  Paoning  Fu  in 


286 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

nineteen  days,  a halt  on  Sundays  being  paid  for  at 
the  rate  of  25,000  cash.  These  men  were  not  dealt 
with  directly,  but  were  engaged  by  contract  with 
the  manager  of  a transport  hong ; who  is  responsible 
for  their  good  conduct  and  honesty.  I may  say  at 
once  that  they  behaved  admirably ; made  the  jour- 
ney in  two  days  less  than  the  stipulated  time ; 
trudged  cheerfully  through  rain  and  mud  ; never 
shirked  their  work  ; and  were  always  sober,  cheery, 
and  obliging.  I never  met  with  other  than  the 
same  behaviour  on  all  the  occasions  when  my 
coolies  or  boatmen  were  engaged  from  a hong. 

My  light,  comfortable  bamboo  chair  had  a well 
under  the  seat  which  contained  my  camera,  and, 
including  its  sixteen  pounds  weight,  carried  forty 
pounds  of  luggage  in  addition  to,  myself.  It  had 
bamboo  poles  fourteen  feet  long,  and  a footboard 
suspended  by  ropes.  Rigid  laws  of  etiquette  gov- 
ern the  getting  out  and  in.  An  open  chair  in  Sze 
Chuan,  being  a novelty,  is  an  abomination,  and  ac- 
counts for  much  of  the  rudeness  which  I received. 
For  some  time  past  the  provincial  authorities  have 
insisted  on  all  travellers,  missionaries  included, 
being  attended  by  two  or  more  “ yamen  runners” 
( chai-jen ),  or  soldiers,  who  are  changed  at  every  pre- 
fecture, where  they  deliver  up  the  official  letter 
which  they  carry.  They  were  never  of  any  use, 


From  Wan  Hsien  to  San  Tsan-Pu  287 


and  except  once,  whether  soldiers  or  civilians,  al- 
ways ran  away  at  the  first  symptoms  of  a disturb- 
ance ; but  neither  were  they  any  nuisance,  and  they 
were  always  apparently  satisfied  with  the  trifle  I 
gave  them. 

These  yamen  runners  are  attached  in  great  num- 
bers to  every  magistracy,  in  large  cities  to  the 
number  of  one  thousand  or  more.  They  are  “ the 
great  unpaid,”  but  manage  to  pick  up  a living,  law- 
suits being  their  great  harvest,  and  the  serving  of 
writs  one  of  their  great  occupations.  They  squeeze 
litigants,  and  are  about  as  much  detested  by  the 
people  as  bailiffs  were  by  the  men  of  Clare  and 
Kerry. 

Thus  equipped,  and  wearing  Chinese  dress,  which 
certainly  blunts  the  edge  of  curiosity  and  greatly 
diminishes  the  intolerable  feminine  picking  and 
feeling  of  one’s  garments  when  they  are  of  foreign 
material  and  make,  I left  the  shelter  and  refinement 
of  the  hospitable  mission-house  for  a solitary  plunge 
into  the  interior,  Be-dien  on  foot,  as  sullen  and  diso- 
bliging as  could  be. 

Mr.  Thompson  kindly  accompanied  me  for  the 
first  day’s  journey  to  see  that  things  worked 
smoothly,  and  we  left  early  on  a fine  February 
morning,  the  air  as  soft  and  mild  as  that  of  an  Eng- 
lish April,  passing  through  the  very  good-looking 


288 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

town,  and  into  the  pretty  open  country,  on  a good, 
flagged  road,  which  was  carried  up  and  down  hill  by 
stone  stairs. 

During  most  of  the  day  we  met  a continuous 
stream  of  baggage-coolies,  each  carrying  a bamboo 
over  his  shoulder  with  a burden  depending  from 
either  end,  shifted  frequently  from  one  shoulder  to 
the  other.  Those  coming  in — and  the  inward  traffic 
did  not  slacken  for  some  days — carried  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds  each  of  opium, 
tobacco,  indigo,  or  paper ; and  those  going  out 
were  loaded  with  cotton  yarn,  piece  goods,  and 
salt,  all  carefully  packed  in  oiled  paper  made  from 
macerated  bamboo,  which  is  very  tough  and  dur- 
able. These  men,  carrying  the  maximum  load 
mentioned,  walk  about  thirteen  miles  a day,  and 
chair-  and  luggage-coolies  about  twenty-five.  Oc- 
casionally I made  thirty  miles  in  a day,  as  my  men 
were  carrying  only  seventy  pounds  each. 

The  coolies  choose  their  own  place  for  breakfast 
and  the  mid-day  halt  of  one  hour.  The  first  day, 
even  with  Mr.  Thompson  to  make  things  smooth 
for  me,  I wondered  if  I could  endure  it,  and  I never 
took  kindly  to  it.  The  halting-place  is  a shed  pro- 
jecting over  the  road  in  a town  or  village  street, 
black  and  grimy,  with  a clay  floor,  and  rough  tables 
and  benches,  receding  into  a dim  twilight  ; a rough 


From  Wan  Hsien  to  San  Tsan-Pu  289 


cooking  apparatus  and  some  coarse  glazed  pottery 
are  the  furnishings.  On  each  table  a bunch  of 
malodorous  chopsticks  occupies  a bamboo  recepta- 


BAGGAGE  COOLIES 
( Frotn  a Chinese  Drawing.) 

cle.  An  earthern  bowl  with  water  and  a dirty  rag 
are  placed  outside  for  the  use  of  travellers,  who 
frequently  also  rinse  their  mouths  with  hot  water. 
One  or  more  exceptionally  dirty  men  are  the  wait- 
ers. Bowls  of  rice  and  rice  water  or  weak  tea  are 
produced  with  praiseworthy  rapidity,  and  the  cool- 
ies shovel  the  food  into  their  mouths  with  the  air 


19 


290 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

of  famished  men,  and  hold  out  their  bowls  for  more. 
My  chair  that  day  and  always  was  set  down  in 
front  of  the  eating-house.  I went  inside  and  had 
some  lunch,  but  the  dirt,  discomfort,  and  general 
odiousness  were  so  great  that  I did  not  inflict  the 
penance  on  myself  a second  time. 

People  intending  to  be  kind  sometimes  take 
pork,  rice,  or  fish  out  of  a common  bowl  and  put 
it  into  yours,  and  to  ensure  cleanliness  draw  the 
chopsticks  with  which  they  perform  the  transference 
through  their  lips,  giving  them  an  energetic  suck  ! 

Sze  Chuan  is  famous  for  the  number  and  splen- 
dour of  what  are  usually  called  “widows’  arches,” 
though  they  are  also  erected  to  pious  sons  or  patri- 
otic mandarins,  specially  military  mandarins.  At 
times  the  approach  to  a city  is  indicated,  not  only 
by  pagodas,  but  by  passing  under  several  of  these, 
and  occasionally  even  a rambling,  squalid  village  is 
entered  by  passing  under  an  exceptionally  hand- 
some one,  as  was  the  case  on  my  first  day’s  journey. 
I attempted  to  photograph  it,  and  the  chai-jen 
made  the  crowd  stand  to  right  and  left  by  a series 
of  vigorous  pushes,  shouting  the  whole  time,  “In 
the  name  of  the  mandarin.”  1 But  the  people  had 
too  much  curiosity  to  be  anything  but  mobile. 

1 This  word,  which  we  apply  universally  to  Chinese  officials,  is  Portu- 
guese. The  Chinese  designation  is  kuatt. 


A PAI-FANG 


292 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

These  arches,  or  pai-fangs,  are  put  up  frequently 
in  glorification  of  widows  who  have  remained  faith- 
ful to  the  memory  of  their  husbands,  and  who  have 
devoted  themselves  to  the  comfort  and  interests  of 
their  parents-in-law  and  to  good  works.  Through 
various  channels  the  neighbourhood  presents  the 
virtues  of  the  meritorious  person  to  the  Throne, 
and  the  Emperor’s  consent  to  the  erection  is  ob- 
tained. The  whole  affair  lends  some  dclat  to  the 
town  or  village.  Many  of  these  arches  are  ex- 
tremely beautiful.  Chinese  carving  in  stone  has 
much  merit,  even  in  such  an  intractable  material  as 
granite.  The  depth  and  sharpness  of  the  cutting 
and  the  undercutting  are  remarkable,  and  the  ab- 
solute realism.  I never  saw  a bit  of  sculpture 
which  showed  a trace  of  imagination.  The  superb 
friezes  which  constantly  decorate  the  superstructure 
of  these  arches  represent  in  a most  masterly  fashion 
mandarins’  processions,  mandarins  administering 
justice,  rich  men’s  banquets,  interiors  of  rich  men’s 
dwellings,  and  many  other  scenes  of  official  and 
stately  life,  all  rendered  with  photographic  accu- 
racy, and  with  a wonderful  power  of  catching  the 
expressions  of  the  various  faces.  It  is  impossible 
not  to  admire  the  skill  of  the  artists,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  wish  for  a trace  of  ideality  in  their 
art.  In  some  places  a superb  arch  enriched  with 


From  Wan  Hsien  to  San  Tsan-Pu  293 


marvels  of  sculpture  straddles  across  a road  which 
is  nothing  better  than  a disgraceful  quagmire  or  a 
stone  causeway  in  which  some  of  the  blocks  are 
tilted  up  on  end,  while  others  have  disappeared  in 
the  mud.  The  incongruity  does  not  seem  to  afflict 
anyone. 

But  I must  return  from  this  digression  on  bad 
roads  to  the  road  on  which  I travelled  on  that  and 
two  or  three  subsequent  days,  which  has  the  reput- 
ation of  being  one  of  the  finest  in  China.  It  was 
built  fifty-four  years  ago,  and  is  in  splendid  repair. 
It  was  to  lead  from  Wan  Hsien  to  Chengtu  Fu, 
but  I failed  to  learn  whether  it  fulfils  its  promise. 
It  is  never  less  than  six  feet  wide,  paved  with 
transverse  stone  slabs,  carried  through  the  rice- 
fields  on  stone  causeways,  and  over  the  bridges 
and  up  and  down  the  innumerable  hills  by  flights 
of  stone  stairs  on  fairly  easy  gradients,  with  stone 
railings  and  balustrades  wherever  there  is  any  ne- 
cessity for  them.  Streams  are  crossed  by  hand- 
some stone  bridges,  with  sharp  lofty  arches,  and 
the  whole  is  a fine  engineering  work. 

My  journey  began  auspiciously  with  a dreamily 
fine  day,  which  developed  into  a red  and  gold 
sunset  of  crystalline  clearness  and  beauty.  The 
scenery  is  entrancing.  The  valleys  are  deep  and 
narrow,  and  each  is  threaded  by  a mountain  torrent. 


294  The  Yangtze  Valley 

The  hills  are  truncated  cones,  each  one  crowned  by 
a highly  picturesque  fortified  village  of  refuge,  and 
there  were  glimpses  of  distant  mountain  forms 
painted  on  the  pale  sky  in  deeper  blue.  Every- 
thing suggested  peace  and  plenty.  The  cultivation 
is  surprising,  and  its  carefulness  has  extirpated 
most  of  the  indigenous  plants.  It  is  carried  up  on 
terraces  to  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  which  support 
the  refuges  ; it  renders  prolific  strips  on  ledges  only 
eighteen  inches  wide.  Except  on  the  road  itself, 
there  was  not  a vacant  space  on  that  day’s  journey 
on  which  a man  could  lie  down. 

The  first  crops,  on  soil  which  in  that  climate  pro- 
duces three  and  four  annually,  were  in  the  ground  : 
broad  beans  with  a black  and  purple  blossom  with 
a white  lip  ; rape  for  oil  then  in  blossom  grown  on 
a large  scale  ; opium  encroaching  on  the  rice  lands  ; 
barley  and  wheat ; various  root  crops,  and  peas  in 
bud,  though  it  was  only  February  24th.  Even 
the  tops  of  the  narrow  dykes  separating  the  rice- 
fields  were  planted  with  single  rows  of  beans. 

My  coolies  stopped  several  times  for  a drink  and 
smoke,  but  did  twenty-seven  miles.  Chair  travel- 
ling is,  I think,  the  easiest  method  of  locomotion  by 
land.  My  one  objection  to  it  is  the  constant  shift- 
ing of  the  short  bamboo  carrying  pole  on  which  the 
long  poles  hang  from  one  shoulder  of  each  bearer 


295 


GRANITE  DRAGON  PILLAR 


296  The  Yangtze  Valley 

to  the  other.  It  has  to  be  done  simultaneously,  in- 
volves a stoppage,  occurs  every  hundred  yards  and 
under,  and  always  gives  the  impression  that  the 
shoulder  which  is  relieved  is  in  unbearable  pain. 
Chair-bearing  is  a trade  by  itself,  and  bearers  have 
to  be  brought  up  to  it.  It  is  essential  to  keep  step 
absolutely,  and  to  be  harmonious  in  all  movements. 
Of  my  three  bearers  the  strongest  went  behind. 
Two  were  opium  smokers,  and  the  third  a vegeta- 
rian, who  abstained  from  opium,  tobacco,  and  sam- 
shu , and  was  on  his  way  to  be  rich  ! There  was 
ceaseless  traffic,  and  as  we  penetrated  further  into 
the  country,  in  addition  to  the  goods  before  men- 
tioned, the  loads  consisted  of  baskets  of  oil,  bean 
cake,  and  coal  and  ironstone,  showing  that  the 
sources  of  supply  of  the  latter  were  not  far  off. 
About  every  half-mile  the  road  passes  under  a roof 
with  food  booths  on  each  side.  There  were  many 
travellers  in  shabby  closed  chairs  with  short  poles, 
hurried  along  by  two  men  at  a shambling  trot. 
There  are  so  many  temples  that  the  air  is  seldom 
free  from  the  odour  of  incense.  We  met  two 
dragon  processions,  consisting  each  of  100  men, 
and  the  undulating  tail  of  the  dragon  was  fifty  feet 
long. 

Towards  evening  the  hills  became  more  mount- 
ainous, and  were  wooded  with  cypress  and  pine, 


From  Wan  Hsien  to  San  Tsan-Pu  297 


and  it  was  very  lovely  in  the  gold  and  violet  light. 
We  halted  for  the  night  at  the  large  village  of 
San-tsan-pu,  where,  though  I had  travelled  for 
seven  months  in  China,  I had  my  first  experience 
of  a Chinese  inn,  and  I did  not  like  it,  specially  as 
I regarded  it  as  the  type  of  four  or  five  coming 
months  of  similar  quarters.  I am  not  ashamed  to 
say  that  a cowardly  inclination  to  abbreviate  my 
journey  tempted  me  the  whole  evening.  The  Sze 
Chuan  inns  have  a good  reputation ; but  I was  not 
making  the  regular  stages,  and  at  all  events  they 
are  inferior  on  that  route,  the  one  which  gave  me 
such  a shock  being  one  of  the  best.  They  are 
worse  than  the  Persian  ordinary  caravanserai , or 
the  Kurdistan  khan , or  even  the  Korean  hostelry. 
I felt  that  I had  degenerated  into  a sybarite,  and 
must  summon  up  all  my  pluck,  and  many  a hearty 
meal  and  ten  hours’  sleep  I afterwards  came  to 
enjoy  in  dens  which  at  first  seemed  foul  and 
hopeless. 

In  the  best  inns  there  is  a room  known  as  the 
mandarin’s  room,  which  can  be  had  by  paying  for 
it,  with  a high  roof,  a boarded  floor,  a window,  and 
a solemn-looking  table  and  chairs  ; but  these  very 
rarely  came  my  way.  My  introduction  to  the 
amenities  of  Chinese  travelling  was  on  this  wise, 
and,  as  Mr.  Thompson  was  with  me,  I was  much 


298  The  Yangtze  Valley 

better  off  than  usual.  I was  carried  through  the 
open  “ restaurant,”  fitted  with  rough  benches  and 
tables,  into  a roughly  paved  yard  behind  it,  where, 
in  the  midst  of  abominations,  was  the  inn  well.  Sev- 
eral rough  doors  round  this  yard  gave  admission  into 
as  many  rooms  without  windows,  several  of  which 
were  already  full.  My  chair  was  set  down,  and, 
after  extricating  myself  from  it  according  to  the 
rules  of  etiquette,  I was  attempting  to  see  it  un- 
packed, when  I was  overborne  by  a shouting  crowd 
of  men  and  boys,  which  surged  in  after  me,  and  I 
had  to  retire  hastily  into  my  room. 

It  was  long  and  narrow,  and  boarded  off  from 
others  by  partitions  with  remarkably  open  chinks, 
to  which  many  pairs  of  sloping  eyes  were  diligently 
applied  ; but  I was  able  to  baffle  curiosity  by  tack- 
ing up  cambric  curtains  brought  for  the  purpose. 
The  roof  was  high  at  one  side  and  low  at  the  other, 
and  fortunately  the  wall  did  not  come  up  to  within 
two  feet  of  it,  though  the  air  admitted  could  not  by 
any  euphemism  be  called  “ fresh.”  The  floor  was 
a damp  and  irregular  one  of  mud,  partly  over  a 
cesspool,  and  with  a strong  tendency  to  puddles. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  outer  boarding  was  a pig- 
sty, which  was  well  occupied,  judging  from  the 
many  voices,  bass  and  treble.  There  were  two 
rough  bedsteads,  on  which  were  mats  covered  with 


From  Wan  Hsien  to  San  Tsan-Pu  299 


old  straw,  on  which  coolies  lay  down  wadded  quilts, 
and  sleep  four  or  more  on  a bed.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  these  beds  are  literally  swarming  with 
vermin  of  the  worst  sorts. 

The  walls  were  black  and  slimy  with  the  dirt  and 
damp  of  many  years  ; the  paper  with  which  the 
rafters  had  once  been  covered  was  hanging  from 
them  in  tatters,  and  when  the  candle  was  lit  beetles, 
“ slaters,”  cockroaches,  and  other  abominable  things 
crawled  on  the  walls  and  dropped  from  the  rafters, 
one  pink,  fleshy  thing  dropping  upon,  and  putting 
out,  the  candle  ! 

I had  arranged  my  plan  of  operations  after  my 
Korean  experience,  but  sullen,  disobliging,  and 
apparently  stupid  Be-dien  left  me  very  much  to 
carry  it  out  myself.  Between  two  of  the  bedsteads 
there  was  just  space  enough  for  my  camp  bed  and 
chair  without  touching  them.  The  oiled  sheet  was 
spread  on  the  floor,  and  my  “ furniture  ” upon  it, 
and  two  small  oiled  sheets  were  used  for  covering 
the  beds,  and  on  these  my  luggage,  food,  and  et- 
ceteras were  deposited.  The  tripod  of  my  camera 
served  for  a candle  stand,  and  on  it  I hung  my 
clothes  and  boots  at  night,  out  of  the  way  of  rats. 
With  these  arrangements  I successfully  defied  the 
legions  of  vermin  which  infest  Korean  and  Chinese 
inns,  and  have  not  a solitary  tale  to  tell  of  broken 


300 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


rest  and  general  misery.  With  absolute  security 
from  vermin,  all  else  can  be  cheerfully  endured. 

A meal  of  curry,  rice,  and  tea  was  not  despicable, 
though  I was  conscious  that  my  equipments  and 
general  manner  of  living  were  rougher  than  they 
had  ever  been  before,  and  that  I had  reached  “ bed- 
rock,” to  quote  a telling  bit  of  American  slang. 

The  inn,  which  was  very  full  of  travellers,  quieted 
down  before  eight,  when  the  slighter  noises,  such 
as  pigs  grunting,  rats  or  mice  gnawing,  crickets 
chirping,  beetles  moving  in  straw,  and  other  insect 
disturbances,  made  themselves  very  audible,  and 
informed  me  that  I was  surrounded  by  a world  of 
busy  and  predatory  life,  loving  darkness  ; but 
while  I thought  upon  it  and  on  the  solitary  plunge 
into  China  which  was  to  be  made  on  the  morrow  I 
fell  asleep,  and  never  woke  till  Be-dien  came  to  my 
door  at  seven  the  next  morning  with  the  informa- 
tion that  there  was  no  fire,  and  that  he  could  not 
get  me  any  breakfast  ! That  was  the  first  of  five 
months  of  nights  of  solid  sleep  from  8 p.m.  onwards. 
I only  allowed  myself  half  a candle  per  day,  and 
after  my  journal  letter  was  written  there  was  no 
object  for  sitting  up. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


SZE  CHUAN  TRAVELLING 


HE  following  day  was  misty,  grey,  and  grim, 


1 and  several  of  its  successors  were  much  like 
it.  One  of  the  local  names  of  Sze  Chuan  is  “ The 
Cloudy  Province.”  Kind,  capable  Mr.  Thompson 
returned  to  Wan  after  giving  the  coolies  various 
instructions  intended  for  my  benefit  ; and  from 
thenceforth  I depended  on  myself.  The  great 
event  of  the  day  was  the  complete  change  in  Be- 
dien  as  soon  as  I was  bereft  of  Europeans.  His 
pride  and  temper  always  remained,  and  were  liable 
to  flare  up,  or  die  down  into  a mephitic  state  of 
sullenness,  but  from  that  morning  till  I left  China 
he  was  active  and  attentive,  was  never  without 
leave  out  of  hearing  of  my  whistle,  was  always  at 
hand  to  help  me  over  slippery  and  difficult  places, 
showed  great  pluck,  never  grumbled,  arranged  and 
packed  up  my  things,  interpreted  carefully,  improved 
daily  in  English,  always  contrived  to  get  hot  water 


301 


302  The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  food  for  me,  and  on  the  whole  made  a tolerable 
travelling  servant. 

The  travelling  was  without  fatigue.  I walked 
when  it  suited  me,  and  for  the  rest  might  have  been 
in  an  easy. -chair  in  a drawing-room.  The  chair- 
bearers  were  energetic,  and  their  “ boss,”  a great 
wag,  kept  them  constantly  laughing.  Their  good- 
nature never  failed.  One  day,  when,  to  relieve 
them,  I walked  up  along  flight  of  stairs  over  a pass, 
they  asked,  “ Does  the  foreign  woman  think  we  are 
not  strong  enough  to  carry  her  ? ” The  idea  of  a 
wish  to  be  kind  to  them  never  entered  their  heads, 
yet  we  gradually  came  to  understand  each  other  a 
little  ; and  I found  my  cloak  put  over  my  shoulders 
for  me,  a wooden  stool  brought  for  my  feet,  sundry 
little  comforts  attended  to,  and  a growing  interest 
in  photography,  reaching  the  extent  of  pointing  out 
objects  at  times  “ to  make  pictures  of  ! ” By  the 
end  of  the  second  day  they  had  all  shaken  into  my 
“ ways,”  and  things  went  very  smoothly. 

The  day’s  routine  was  a cup  of  tea  and  some 
flour  stirabout  at  seven  ; but,  though  I was  always 
ready  and  eager  to  start  at  eight,  it  was  usually 
half-past,  and  often  nine,  before  we  got  off.  The 
coolies’  first  breakfast  was  often  late,  and  there  was 
the  haggling  about  the  bill,  neither  side  liking  to 
give  in.  It  was  only  a shilling  for  the  board  and 


Sze  Chuan  Travelling  303 

lodging  for  myself  and  my  servant ! This  included 
his  supper  and  breakfast,  my  rice,  and  a room  to  my- 
self, his  share  of  the  coolies’  room,  an  iron  lamp 
fixed  on  the  wall,  with  an  oil  well  and  a wick  in  a 
spout  encrusted  with  the  soot  and  grime  of  years, 
and  if  I had  a charcoal  brazier  the  charge  was  a 
farthing  more.  My  other  travelling  expenses  came 
to  4X  61 d.  a day  ; 5^.  6 d.  covered  everything,  in- 
cluding a fowl  for  curry  every  third  day. 

My  bearers  trudged  along  at  an  even  pace,  stop- 
ping two  or  three  times  for  a drink  and  smoke  at 
tea  shops  where  others  congregated,  until  the  halt 
for  dinner  at  a restaurant  of  more  pretensions, 
outside  of  which  I sat  in  my  chair  in  the  village 
street  the  unwilling  centre  of  a large  and  very 
dirty  crowd,  which  had  leisure  to  stand  round  me 
for  an  hour,  staring,  making  remarks,  laughing  at 
my  peculiarities,  pressing  closer  and  closer  till  there 
was  hardly  air  to  breathe,  taking  out  my  hairpins, 
and  passing  my  gloves  round  and  putting  them  on 
their  dirty  hands,  on  two  occasions  abstracting  my 
spoon  and  slipping  it  into  their  sleeves,  being  in  no 
way  abashed  when  they  were  detected.  For  at 
first  I ate  a little  cold  rice,  but  wearying  of  being  a 
spectacle,  and  being  convinced  that  as  a general 
rule  our  insular  habit  is  to  eat  too  much,  I gave  up 
this  moderate  lunch,  and  contented  myself  with  a 


304  The  Yangtze  Valley 

morsel  of  chocolate  eaten  surreptitiously.  On  the 
rare  occasions  when  the  villagers  wearied  of  their 
entertainment,  even  of  gloves,  which  they  thought 
were  worn  to  conceal  some  desperate  skin  disease, 
and  dropped  off,  small  black  pigs,  with  upright 
rows  of  bristles  on  their  lean,  curved  spines,  timidly 
took  their  place  with  expectations  which  were  not 
realised,  picking  about,  even  under  the  poles  of  the 
chair,  for  fragments  which  they  did  not  find,  and 
even  nibbling  my  straw  shoes,  and  ancient  and 
long-legged  poultry  were  as  odiously  familiar. 

When  they  had  fed  and  smoked,  the  men 
shouldered  their  burdens,  and  trudged  on  till  about 
sunset,  stopping,  as  in  the  morning,  for  smokes  and 
drinks,  I walking  and  photographing  as  it  suited 
me.  Sometimes  we  put  up  at  a wayside  inn,  with- 
out even  the  privacy  of  a yard  ; this  was  in  very 
small  places,  where  the  curiosity  was  not  so  over- 
whelming. 

In  towns  the  case  was  different.  The  inn  yard 
was  often  enclosed  by  planking  and  a wide  door, 
within  which  there  might  be  one,  two,  or  three 
courts,  possibly  with  flowers  in  pots  and  a little 
gaudy  paint.  Some  of  these  inns  accommodate 
over  200  travellers,  with  their  baggage.  Every 
room  is  full,  and,  between  money-changing,  eating, 
“sing-song,”  and  gambling,  and  half-naked  waiters 


Sze  Chuan  Travelling  3°5 

rushing  about  with  small  trays,  and  numbers  of 
men  all  shouting  together,  it  is  pretty  lively.  At 
the  extreme  end  of  the  establishment  is  the  “ kuaris 
room,”  with  one  for  attendants  on  each  side.  The 
crowd  which  always  gathered  during  my  passage 
down  the  street  rolled  in  at  the  doorway,  blocking 
up  the  yard,  shouting,  ofttimes  hooting,  and  fighting 
each  other  for  a look  at  the  foreigner.  Fortunately 
doors  in  Chinese  inns  have  strong  wooden  bolts, 
and  when  my  baggage  and  I were  once  ensconced 
1 was  secure  from  intrusion,  unless  a few  men  and 
boys  had  run  on  ahead  to  take  possession  of  the 
room  before  I entered  it,  or  forced  themselves  in 
behind  Be-dien  when  he  brought  my  dinner.  If  it 
were  merely  a boarded  wall,  a row  of  patient  eyes 
usually  watched  me  for  an  hour,  and  with  much 
gratification,  for  these  rooms  are  dark  with  the 
door  shut,  and  my  candle  revealed  my  barbarian 
proceedings. 

But  worse  than  this  was  the  slow  scraping  of 
holes  in  the  plaster  partition,  when  there  was  one, 
between  my  room  and  the  next,  accompained  by 
the  peculiarly  irritating  sound  of  whispering,  and 
eventually  by  the  application  of  a succession  of  eyes 
to  the  hole,  more  whispering,  and  some  giggling. 
It  was  always  a temptation  to  apply  the  muzzle  of 
a revolver  or  a syringe  to  the  opening  ! Occasionally 


306  The  Yangtze  Valley 

a big  piece  of  plaster  fell  into  my  room  and  re- 
vealed the  operators,  who  were  more  frequently 
well-dressed  travellers  than  ignorant  coolies.  I 
used  to  whistle  for  Be-dien  to  hang  up  a curtain 
over  the  holes,  after  which  there  was  peace  for  a 
time,  and  then  the  scraping  and  whispering  began 
again,  and  often  on  both  sides,  till,  tired  and 
irritated,  I used  to  put  out  the  candle  and  lie  down, 
frequently  awaking  in  the  morning  to  find  myself  in 
my  travelling  dress  still,  clutching  my  interrupted 
diary.  When  one  arrived  tired  after  being  stared 
at  and  pressed  upon  several  times  in  the  day, 
beginning  with  the  early  morning,  the  fearful  hub- 
bub in  the  courtyard,  lasting  an  hour  or  more, 
followed  by  these  grating  and  rasping  processes, 
was  exhausting  and  exasperating. 

Also  the  landlord’s  wife,  and  often  a bevy  of 
women  with  her,  used  to  come  in  and  pick  over  my 
things,  which  fortunately  were  few,  and  ask  ques- 
tions, beginning  with,  “ What  is  your  honourable 
age  ?”  “Have  you  many  sons?”  When  I con- 
fessed that  I had  none  they  expressed  pity,  and  a 
contempt  which  Be-dien  did  not  scruple  to  translate. 
“ Why  have  you  left  your  honourable  country?” 
etc.  But  they  soon  tired  of  the  trouble  of  inter- 
rogating me  and  talked  to  Be-dien,  and  when  I 
asked  what  they  were  saying,  I heard  such  remarks 


Sze  Chuan  Travelling  30 7 

as  these  : “ What  ugly  eyes  she  has,  and  straight 
eyebows  ! ” “Yes,  but  they  see  into  the  ground 
and  where  the  gold  is  hid.”  “Has  she  come  for 
gold  ? ” “ What  big  feet  she  has  ! ” (Their  own 

were  about  three  inches  long.)  “ Why  is  her  hair 
like  wool  ? ” and  so  on. 

These  people  had  never  seen  lead  pencils  or 
fountain  pens,  and  everywhere  these  and  the 
foreign  writing,  and  the  fact  that  a woman  could 
write,  (for  the  gazers  were  more  or  less  illiterate) 
attracted  great  attention.  A pronged  fork,  which 
they  thought  must  “ prick  the  mouth  and  make  it 
bleed,”  was  in  their  eyes  a barbarism.  I wore  straw 
sandals  over  English  tan  shoes  to  avoid  slipping, 
and  this  they  regarded  as  a confession  of  foreign 
inferiority.  I was  wearing  a Chinese  woman’s 
dress  with  a Japanese  kurumayas  hat,  the  one 
perfect  travelling  hat,  and  English  gloves  and 
shoes,  and  this  olla  podrida  was  an  annoyance  to 
them.  Their  questions  were  very  trivial,  and  their 
curiosity  appeared  singularly  unintelligent,  contrast- 
ing, in  this  respect,  with  that  of  the  Japanese.  It 
showed  prodigious  apathy  for  adults  to  spend  hour 
after  hour  in  focussing  a stolid  stare  upon  a person 
whose  occupations  offered  no  novelty  or  variety, 
being  limited  to  eating  and  writing.  The  curiosity 
of  the  common  people,  though  boorish,  was  not 


3°8 


Tne  Yangtze  Valley 

rude,  but  that  of  the  class  above  them,  and  above 
all  of  men  of  the  literary  class,  was  brutal  and  in- 
sulting, and  generally  tended  to  excite  hostility 
against  the  foreigner. 

I developed  my  negatives  in  my  room  at  night, 
as  it  was  almost  always  a perfect  “ darkroom,”  and 
the  greatest  of  my  annoyance,  was  when  a flash 
of  white  light  showed  that  my  neighbours  had 
successfully  worked  a hole  in  the  wall,  and  that  my 
precious  negative  was  hopelessly  “ fogged.” 

The  indispensable  yanteTL  runners  are  changed  at 
every  prefecture,  and  the  passports  are  examined 
and  copied.  These  runners  are  a queer  lot.  For 
this  duty  they  get  their  travelling  expenses  and 
something  over,  and  the  douceur  which  the  traveller 
bestows.  A formal  official  letter  is  their  warrant. 
But  on  many  occasions  I found  myself  not  with  the 
escort  I left  the  perfecture  with,  which  truly  was 
shabby  enough,  but  with  a couple  of  ragged  beg- 
gars, to  whom  the  letter  with  its  advantages  had 
been  sold  by  the  runners,  who  thus  saved  them- 
selves a journey.  Occasionally  these  substitutes 
strutted  in  front  of  my  chair  down  a street  waving 
the  magistrate’s  letter,  the  wind  blowing  their  rags 
aside,  showing  the  neglected  and  repulsive  sores 
by  which  they  excite  the  compassion  of  the  charit- 
able. The  only  useful  purpose  which  the  yanten 


Sze  Chuan  Travelling  3° 9 

runners  served  was  occasionally  when  it  was  grow- 
ing late  to  run  on  ahead  and  engage  “ rooms,”  and 
always  to  take  the  passport  to  the  yamen.  I write 
“ the  passport  ” because  it  deserved  the  definite 
article  from  its  size,  the  grandeur  of  its  seals,  and 
the  consideration  it  claimed  for  me,  besides  which 
it  allowed  of  unlimited  travel  in  the  eighteen  prov- 
vinces,  as  well  as  in  Mongolia  and  Manchuria,  and 
was  of  such  a nature  as  to  produce  an  immediate 
change  of  manner  in  every  official  who  read  it ! 
Besides  this  I had  a correct  and  prosaic  consular 
passport  issued  at  Hankow,  which  I only  once  had 
occasion  to  use. 

The  compulsory  chai-jen  are,  I think,  a speciality 
of  Sze  Chuan,  and  the  compulsion  rose  out  of  un- 
pleasant circumstances.  I never  learned  that  they 
forced  the  innkeepers  to  take  less  than  the  usual 
payment  ; indeed,  I think  that  Chinese  innkeepers 
are  far  too  independent  a class  to  be  forced,  nor, 
though  they  have  the  reputation  of  being  brutal 
and  truculent,  did  I see  them  maltreat  anyone,  but 
I much  objected  to  being  sold  to  the  beggars  and 
to  being  deserted  on  critical  occasions.  When 
soldiers  were  sent,  and  any  trouble  was  threatened, 
they  usually  slipped  off  their  brilliant  coat  cloaks 
and  disappeared,  and  in  reply  to  my  subsequent 
remonstrances  said,  “ What  are  four  against  two 


3Jo  The  Yangtze  Valley- 

thousand  ? ” a specious  way  of  excusing  themselves, 
for  the  mandarin’s  letter  is  all-powerful  even  in  a 
beggar’s  hand. 

Money  annoyances  began  early,  and  never  ceased. 
Before  leaving  Wan  Hsien  I bought  10,000  cash , 
brass  coins,  about  the  size  of  a halfpenny,  inscribed 
with  Chinese  characters,  and  with  a square  hole  in 
the  middle.  By  this  they  are  threaded  a hundred 
at  a time  on  a piece  of  straw  twist,  and  at  that  time 
(for  the  exchange  fluctuates  daily)  the  equivalent 
of  two  shillings  weighed  eight  pounds  ! The 
eighteen  shillings  in  cash  with  which  I started 
weighed  seventy-two  pounds,  and  this  had  to  be 
distributed  among  the  coolies,  the  boss,  or  fu-tou, 
being  responsible  for  the  whole.  But  no  reliance 
is  to  be  placed  on  the  cash  shop.  There  may  be 
cash  wanting,  small  cash , spurious  cash;  conse- 
quently every  string  must  be  counted,  and  this  op- 
eration frequently  took  more  than  an  hour.  A few 
cash  in  each  hundred  are  claimed  for  the  “ string.” 
On  nearly  every  string  small  cash  used  to  be  found, 
and  the  haggling  and  the  counting  occupied  one  of 
the  best  morning  hours.  This  process,  in  common 
with  everything  which  has  to  do  with  money,  is  in- 
tensely interesting  to  every  Chinese,  and  the  dullest 
wits  are  bright  on  the  subject.  Some  villages  would 
only  receive  small  cash  : others  rejected  it  altogether. 


Sze  Chuan  Travelling  311 

The  silver  was  a greater  nuisance  than  the  brass. 
The  silver  shoes  I got  in  Hankow  had  been  broken 
up  into  four  pieces  each,  but  even  then  they  were 
unmanageably  big  and  had  to  be  chopped  again, 
usually  by  the  village  blacksmith  with  his  heavy 
tools,  and  weighed  again  to  make  sure  that  all  had 
been  returned.  Then  the  man  to  whom  you  pay 
over  a fragment  of  your  broken  sycee,  for  which  the 
Hong  Kong  and  Shanghai  Bank  was  responsible, 
puts  it  first  into  the  palm  of  one  hand,  then  into 
the  other,  looks  at  it  askance,  and  then  says  the 
“ touch  ” is  bad,  it  is  inferior  silver,  and  so  on. 
This  is  after  you  have  agreed  to  pay  a certain 
weight  in  silver  for  an  article,  say  half  an  ounce. 
Then  it  appears  that  not  only  is  the  “touch”  in- 
ferior, but  the  ounce  of  that  town  is  a heavier 
ounce  than  the  ounce  of  the  last,  and  that  your 
scale  is  a bad  one,  and  that  the  silver  must  be 
weighed  in  a “good  scale,”  i.e.,  the  seller’s  own  ; 
and  between  the  “ touch”  and  the  varying  weights, 
and  the  differing  values  of  taels,  and  the  charges 
for  breaking  and  weighing  and  possibly  for  assay- 
ing the  sycee,  the  ’bewildered  traveller,  who  has 
three  things  always  to  think  of — -the  number  of  cash 
to  the  tael,  the  quality  of  the  silver,  and  the  weight 
of  the  tael — would  gladly  compound  by  paying  a 
much  larger  percentage  than  all  this  botheration 


312 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

really  costs.  One  of  the  greatest  aggravations 
is  when  the  cash  strings  break  just  as  one  is  start- 
ing, and  a thousand  cash  roll  over  the  inn  yard  and 
lose  themselves  in  heaps  and  holes.  Then  the  inn- 
keeper exerts  himself  and  clears  the  yard  of  the 
crowd,  and  a diligent  search  is  instituted.  It  is 
useless  to  say,  “ Never  mind  if  a few  are  left  be- 
hind,” for  it  is  a point  of  honour  with  the  fu-tou, 
who  is  responsible  for  everything,  that  not  a cash 
shall  be  missing. 

In  this  chapter  I have  endeavoured  to  glance  at 
the  most  salient  features  of  Sze  Chuan  travel, 
leaving  others  to  emerge  en  route. 


CHAPTER  XX 


SAN-TSAN-PU  TO  LIANG-SHAN  HSIEN 


HE  first  two  days  passed  uneventfully.  I was 


1 set  down  to  be  stared  at  seven  times  a day, 
but  the  village  people  were  inoffensive.  We  passed 
through  rich  and  cultivated  country,  with  many 
noble  farmhouses  with  six  or  eight  irregular  roofs, 
handsome,  roofed,  entrance  gates,  deep  eaves,  and 
many  gables  of  black  beams  and  white  plaster,  as 
in  Cheshire.  Next  pine-clothed  hills  appeared,  and 
then  the  grand  pass  of  Shen-kia-chao  (2900  feet) 
lifted  us  above  habitation  and  cultivation  into  a 
solitary  mountain  region  of  rock,  scrub,  torrents, 
and  waterfalls.  The  road  ascends  the  pass  by  1140 
steps  on  the  edge  of  a precipice,  which  is  fenced 
the  whole  way  by  granite  uprights  two  feet  high, 
carrying  long  granite  rails  eight  inches  square. 
Two  chairs  can  pass  along  the  whole  length.  The 
pass  is  grand  and  savage.  There  were  brigands 
on  the  road,  and  it  was  patrolled  by  soldiers,  small 
bodies  of  whom  I met  in  their  stagey  uniforms, 


si  3 


3X4  The  Yangtze  Valley 

armed  with  lances  with  long  pennons  and  short 
bows  and  arrows.  These  bows  need  a strong  man’s 
strength  to  string  them,  and  bow-and-arrow  drill  is 
a great  military  exercise.  The  price  of  rice  had 
risen  considerably,  cash  was  scarce,  and  as  in  some 
parts  even  of  this  prosperous  province  men  do  little 
more  than  keep  body  and  soul  together  by  their 
labour,  even  a slight  rise  means  starvation  and 
death,  and  it  is  fierce,  cruel  want  which  turns  men 
into  robbers  in  China,  many  of  the  stouter  spirits 
preferring  to  prey  on  their  neighbours  in  this  fash- 
ion to  depending  on  their  charity.  At  one  point 
on  the  pass  where  there  were  some  trees,  three 
criminals  were  hanging  in  cages  with  their  feet  not 
quite  touching  the  ground.  The  chai-jen  said  that 
they  were  to  be  starved  to  death.  Not  far  off  were 
two  human  heads  which  looked  as  if  they  had  been 
there  for  some  time,  hanging  in  two  cages,  with  a 
ghastly  look  of  inquisitive  intelligence  on  their 
faces. 

All  had  been  robbers.  Chinese  justice  is  retri- 
butive, and  takes  little  account  of  human  life.  We 
met  a number  of  chained  prisoners  on  their  way  to 
Wan,  all  with  that  peculiarly  degraded  and  brutish 
look  which  a lavish  growth  of  unkempt  hair  on  the 
usually  smoothly  shaven  head  of  a Chinese  invari- 
ably produces.  It  was  impossible  not  to  pity  these 


315 


PASS  OF  SHEN-KIA-CHAO 


316  The  Yangtze  Valley 

poor  fellows,  specially  as  they  were  most  likely 
driven  to  their  crimes  by  hunger,  remembering  as 
I did,  and  that  vividly,  the  judgment-seat  of  the 
Naam-hoi  magistrate  at  Canton,  with  a row  of 
shivering  prisoners  kneeling  on  pounded  glass  on 
the  stone  floor  in  front  of  it,  with  their  foreheads 
an  inch  from  the  ground.  At  this  time  China, 
with  its  crowds,  its  poverty,  its  risks  of  absolute 
famine  from  droughts  or  floods,  its  untellable  hor- 
rors, its  filth,  its  brutality,  its  venality,  its  grasping, 
clutching,  and  pitiless  greed,  and  its  political  and 
religious  hopelessness,  sat  upon  me  like  a night- 
mare. There  are  other  and  better  aspects  which 
dawn  on  the  traveller  more  slowly,  and  there  is 
even  a certain  lovableness  about  the  people.  I 
only  put  down  what  were  my  impressions  at  the 
time. 

From  the  ragged  summit  of  the  Shen-kia-chao 
pass  we  drop  down  into  cultivated  land,  and  at  a 
large  village  I put  up  at  an  inn  where  I had  a man- 
darin’s room,  very  shabby  and  ruinous,  and  with  a 
leaky  roof,  which  compelled  me  to  shift  my  bed 
several  times  in  the  night,  but  as  it  had  a window- 
frame  from  which  all  the  paper  had  been  tom  off, 
it  was  airy,  and  with  a bunch  of  incense  sticks  I 
overpowered  the  evil  smells.  The  next  morning 
there  was  a great  row  before  I left,  about  cash  as 


San-Tsan-Pu  to  Liang-Shan  Hsien  317 

usual,  accusations  of  theft  being  freely  bandied 
about  I was  in  my  chair  in  the  yard  when  it  be- 
gan, and  soon  a crowd  of  men  brandishing  their 
arms  (I  don’t  think  the  Chinese  possess  fists)  in  my 
face,  shouting  and  yelling  with  a noise  and  appar- 
ent fury  not  to  be  imagined  by  anyone  who  has  not 
seen  an  excited  Chinese  mob.  They  yelled  into 
my  ears  and  struck  my  chair  with  their  tools  to 
attract  my  attention,  but  I continued  to  sit  facing 
them,  never  moving  a muscle,  as  I was  quite  inno- 
cent of  the  cause  of  the  quarrel,  and  at  last  they 
subsided  and  let  me  depart.  I doubt  much  whether 
this  and  many  similar  ebullitions  would  have  oc- 
curred if  I had  had  a European  man  with  me. 

It  was  a pleasant  region  through  which  we  passed, 
in  the  grey  mist,  of  small  rice-fields  step  above  step 
in  every  little  valley,  the  broadest  steps  at  the  bot- 
tom, of  large,  handsome  farmhouses,  large  stone 
tombs  in  the  hillsides,  fine  temples,  wayside  shrines, 
and  pai-lows , or  pai-fangs.  These  erections  are 
finer  and  more  numerous  in  Sze  Chuan  than  I have 
seen  them  elsewhere  in  China.  Some  villages  on 
that  day’s  journey  were  approached  under  six  stone 
portals,  remarkable  for  their  dignity  and  artistic 
perfection.  Von  Richthofen  remarks  upon  some 
of  the  Sze  Chuan  pai-fangs  as  being  “ masterpieces 
of  Chinese  art.”  I learned  that  some  of  them 


3 1 S The  Yangtze  Valley 

commemorate,  as  in  Korea,  the  administrative  vir- 
tues of  local  officials,  but  the  genuine  value  of  the 
tribute  is  dubious. 


WAYSIDE  SHRINE 


I have  no  hard  and  fast  theory  regarding  these 
portals.  They  would  be  an  interesting  subject  for 
investigation.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  Chinese 
pai-fang  is  an  accretion  on  such  primitive  structures 


San-Tsan-Pu  to  Liang-Shan  Hsien  3r9 

as  the  triliths  of  Stonehenge,  the  coran  of  India — 
still,  according  to  Fergusson,  used  in  its  ancient 
timber  form  at  Hindu  marriages — the  toriioi  Japan, 
still  mostly  of  wood,  and  the  slighter  but  nearly 
similar  structure  which  marks  the  entrance  to  royal 
property  in  Korea.  It  is  probable  that  the  simpler 
forms  in  China  are  the  most  ancient,  and  that 
superb  decoration  of  many  examples  belongs  to  the 
later  centuries.  I cannot  see  any  reason  for  con- 
necting the  pai-fang  with  the  introduction  of  Bud- 
dhism into  China.  The  torii  in  Japan,  the  simplest 
existing  form  of  the  structure,  is  connected  with 
Shinto,  which  existed  centuries  before  Buddhism 
travelled  to  Japan  from  Korea. 

I always  objected  to  halt  at  a city,  but  arriving  at 
that  of  Liang-shan  Hsien  late  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  third  day  from  Wan,  it  was  necessary  to  change 
the  chai-jen  and  get  my  passport  copied.  An  im- 
posing city  it  is,  on  a height,  approached  by  a steep 
flight  of  stairs  with  a sharp  turn  under  a deep  pict- 
uresque gateway  in  a fine  wall,  about  which  are 
many  picturesque  and  fantastic  buildings.  The 
gateway  is  almost  a tunnel,  and  admits  into  a street 
fully  a mile  and  a half  long,  and  not  more  than  ten 
feet  wide,  with  shops,  inns,  brokers,  temples  with 
highly  decorated  fronts,  and  Government  buildings 
“ of  sorts  ” along  its  whole  length. 


320 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

I had  scarcely  time  to  take  it  in  when  men  be- 
gan to  pour  into  the  roadway  from  every  quarter, 
hooting,  and  some  ran  ahead — always  a bad  sign. 
I proposed  to  walk,  but  the  chairmen  said  it  was 
not  safe.  The  open  chair,  however,  was  equally 
an  abomination.  The  crowd  became  dense  and 
noisy ; there  was  much  hooting  and  yelling.  I 
recognised  many  cries  of  Yang  kwei-tze!  (foreign 
devil)  and  “ Child-eater!  ” swelling  into  a roar ; 
the  narrow  street  became  almost  impassable  ; my 
chair  was  struck  repeatedly  with  sticks  ; mud  and 
unsavoury  missiles  were  thrown  with  excellent  aim  ; 
a well-dressed  man,  bolder  or  more  cowardly  than 
the  rest,  hit  me  a smart  whack  across  my  chest, 
which  left  a weal  ; others  from  behind  hit  me  across 
the  shoulders  ; the  howling  was  infernal : it  was  an 
angry  Chinese  mob.1  There  was  nothing  for  it  but 
to  sit  up  stolidly,  and  not  to  appear  hurt,  frightened 
or  annoyed,  though  I was  all  three. 

Unluckily  the  bearers  were  shoved  to  one  side, 
and  stumbling  over  some  wicker  oil  casks  (empty, 
however),  knocked  them  over,  when  there  was  a 
scrimmage,  in  which  they  were  nearly  knocked 
down.  One  runner  dived  into  an  inn  doorway, 

1 1 was  told  afterwards  that  a foreign  missionary  in  an  open  chair  had 
passed  through  not  long  before,  and  being  annoyed  at  the  curiosity  and 
crowding  of  the  people,  had  gone  with  a complaint  to  the  yamcn,  and  it 
as  supposed  by  some  of  my  friends  that  they  were  avenging  this  on  me. 


321 


San-Tsan-Pu  to  Liang-Shan  Hsien 

which  the  innkeeper  closed  in  a fury,  saying  he 
would  not  admit  a foreigner ; but  he  shut  the 
door  on  the  chair,  and  I got  out  on  the  inside,  the 
bearers  and  porters  squeezing  in  after  me,  one 
chair-pole  being  broken  in  the  crush.  I was  hurried 
to  the  top  of  a large  inn  yard  and  shoved  into  a 
room,  or  rather  a dark  shed.  The  innkeeper  tried, 
I was  told,  to  shut  and  bar  the  street  door,  but  it 
was  burst  open,  and  the  whole  of  the  planking  torn 
down.  The  mob  surged  in  1500  or  2000  strong,  led 
by  some  literati , as  I could  see  through  the  chinks. 

There  was  then  a riot  in  earnest  ; the  men  had 
armed  themselves  with  pieces  of  the  doorway,  and 
were  hammering  at  the  door  and  wooden  front  of 
my  room,  surging  against  the  door  to  break  it 
down,  howling  and  yelling.  Yang-kwei-tze ! had 
been  abandoned  as  too  mild,  and  the  yells,  as  I 
learned  afterwards  were  such  as  “ Beat  her ! ” 
“ Kill  her  ! ” “ Burn  her  ! ” The  last  they  tried  to 
carry  into  effect.  My  den  had  a second  wooden 
wall  to  another  street,  and  the  mob  on  that  side 
succeeded  in  breaking  a splinter  out,  through  which 
they  inserted  some  lighted  matches,  which  fell  on 
some  straw  and  lighted  it.  It  was  damp,  and  I 
easily  trod  it  out,  and  dragged  a board  over  the 
hole.  The  place  was  all  but  pitch-dark,  and  was 
full  of  casks,  boards,  and  chunks  of  wood.  The 


322 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


door  was  secured  by  strong  wooden  bars.  I sat 
down  on  something  in  front  of  the  door  with  my 
revolver,  intending  to  fire  at  the  men’s  legs  if  they 
got  in,  tried  the  bars  every  now  and  then,  looked 
through  the  chinks,  felt  the  position  serious — 
darkness,  no  possibility  of  escaping,  nothing  of 
humanity  to  appeal  to,  no  help,  and  a mob  as 
pitiless  as  fiends.  Indeed,  the  phrase,  “ hell  let 
loose,”  applied  to  the  howls  and  their  inspiration. 

They  brought  joists  up  wherewith  to  break  in  the 
door,  and  at  every  rush — and  the  rushes  were  made 
with  a fiendish  yell — I expected  it  to  give  way. 
At  last  the  upper  bar  yielded,  and  the  upper  part 
of  the  door  caved  in  a little.  They  doubled  their 
efforts,  and  the  door  in  another  minute  would  have 
fallen  in,  when  the  joists  were  thrown  down,  and  in 
the  midst  of  a sudden  silence  there  was  the  rush, 
like  a swirl  of  autumn  leaves,  of  many  feet,  and  in 
a few  minutes  the  yard  was  clear,  and  soldiers,  who 
remained  for  the  night,  took  up  positions  there. 
One  of  my  men,  after  the  riot  had  lasted  for  an 
hour,  had  run  to  the  yamen  with  the  news  that  the 
people  were  “ murdering  a foreigner,”  and  the 
mandarin  sent  soldiers  with  orders  for  the  tumult 
to  cease,  which  he  might  have  sent  two  hours  before, 
as  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  he  did  not  know 
of  it. 


San-Tsan-Pu  to  Liang-Shan  Hsien  323 

The  innkeeper,  on  seeing  my  special  passport, 
was  uneasy  and  apologetic,  but  his  inn  was  crowded, 
he  had  no  better  room  to  give  me,  and  I was  too 
tired  and  shaken  to  seek  another.  I was  half 
inclined  to  return  to  Wan,  but,  in  fact,  though  there 
was  much  clamour  and  hooting  in  several  places,  I 
was  only  actually  attacked  once  again,  and  am  very 
glad  that  I persevered  with  my  journey. 

Knowing  that  my  safety  was  assured,  I examined 
what  seemed  as  if  it  might  have  been  a death-trap, 
and  found  it  was  a lumber-room,  black  and  ruinous, 
with  a garret  above,  of  the  floor  of  which  little  re- 
mained but  the  joists.  My  floor  was  in  big  holes, 
with  heaps  and  much  rubbish  of  wood  and  plaster, 
and  became  sloppy  in  the  night  from  leakage  from 
the  roof.  There  was  just  clear  space  enough  for 
my  camp  bed.  It  was  very  cold  and  draughty,  and 
after  my  candle  was  lighted  rows  of  sloping  eyes 
were  perseveringly  applied  to  the  chinks  on  the 
street  side,  and  two  pairs  to  those  on  the  other  side. 
I should  like  to  have  done  their  owners  some  harm- 
less mischief ! 

The  host’s  wife  came  in  to  see  me,  and  speaking 
apologetically  of  the  riot,  she  said,  “If  a foreign 
woman  went  to  your  country,  you ’d  kill  her,  would 
n’t  you  ? ” I have  since  quite  understood  what  I 
have  heard  : that  several  foreign  ladies  have  become 


324  The  Yangtze  Valley 

“ queer  ” and  even  insane  as  the  result  of  frights 
received  in  riots,  and  that  the  wife  of  one  British 
consul  actually  died  as  the  result.  Consul-General 
Jamieson  truly  says  that  no  one  who  has  heard 
the  howling  of  an  angry  Chinese  mob  can  ever 
forget  it. 

The  next  morning  opened  in  blessed  quiet. 
There  was  hardly  the  usual  crowd  in  the  inn  yard. 
Carpenters  were  busy  repairing  the  demolished 
doorway.  A new  pole  had  been  attached  to  my 
chair  by  the  innkeeper.  There  were  many  soldiers 
in  the  street,  through  which  I was  carried  in  the 
rain  without  my  hat.  Not  a remark  was  made. 
Hardly  a head  was  turned.  It  was  so  perfectly 
quiet  and  orderly  that  after  a time  the  fu-tou  sug- 
gested that  I might  put  on  my  hat ! The  events 
of  the  day  before  wrould  have  appeared  a hideous 
dream  but  that  my  shoulders  were  very  sore  and 
aching,  and  that  two  of  the  coolies  who  had  been 
beaten  for  serving  a foreigner  bore  some  ugly  traces 
of  it.  My  nerves  were  somewhat  shaken,  and  for 
some  weeks  I never  entered  the  low-browed  gate 
of  a city  without  more  or  less  apprehension. 

Liang-shan  is  an  ancient  and  striking  city.  In 
the  long,  narrow  main  street,  the  houses  turn  deep- 
eaved  gables,  with  great  horned  projections  to  the 
roadway.  There  are  many  fine  temples  with  their 


San-Tsan-Pu  to  Liang-Shan  Hsien  325 

fronts  profusely  and  elaborately  decorated  with 
dragons,  divinities,  and  arabesques  in  coloured  por- 
celain relief,  or  in  deeply  and  admirably  carved 
grey  plaster,  the  effect  of  the  latter  closely  resem- 
bling stone.  The  city  manufactures  paper  from 
the  Brousonetia  papyrifera , both  fine  and  coarse, 
printed  cottons,  figured  silks,  and  large  quantities 
of  the  imitation  houses,  horses,  men,  furniture, 
trunks,  etc.,  which  are  burned  to  an  extravagant 
extent  at  burials. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

LIANG-SHAN  HSIEN  TO  HSIA-SHAN-PO 

IT  was  a relief  to  get  out  into  the  open  country, 
though  for  some  time  I felt  shaken  by  the  two 
hours’  tension  of  the  day  before.  The  drizzle  in 
which  I started  soon  developed  into  heavy  rain 
which  lasted  for  nine  hours,  turning  every  rivulet 
into  a tawny  torrent.  It  was  a very  interesting 
journey  even  in  the  downpour.  Liang-shan  is  on 
the  western  slope  of  one  among  a cluster  of  ranges, 
the  steep  eastern  side  of  which  I climbed  the  day 
before,  and  after  passing  through  the  town  the 
road  dips  down  into  a rolling  plain,  extending 
widely  in  every  direction,  at  that  time  a great  inun- 
dated swamp  of  rice-fields  of  every  size  and  shape, 
threaded  by  a narrow  stone  road,  and  abounding 
in  small  islands,  frequently  walled  round,  on  which 
the  large  farmhouses  stand,  screened  by  bamboo 
and  cypress  groves,  or  temples,  ofttimes  red,  with 
magnificent  trees  and  priests’  dwellings  surround- 
ing them. 


326 


Liang-Shan  Hsien  to  Hsia-Shan-Po  32 7 

A background  of  tall  pines,  cypresses,  and  bam- 
boo threw  into  striking  relief  a temple  of  unusual 
appearance,  with  a fine  canopy  roof  of  glazed  green 
tiles,  the  front  rising  from  the  water,  the  rest  of 
the  “ island  ” enclosed  by  a wall  of  imperial  red. 
I reached  it  by  wading  a hundred  yards  in  very 
chilly  water,  and  found  a plain,  square,  open  build- 
ing of  red  sandstone,  surrounded  by  a broad,  stone 
platform.  In  the  centre  are  two  fine  palms,  in 
stone  vases,  and  a severe  pai-fang,  on  the  north 
platform  a plain  stone  altar,  and  a tablet  with  an 
incised  inscription,  and  behind  this  a wall  with 
incised  inscriptions  divided  by  pilasters  ; all  is 
severely  handsome  and  absolutely  plain.  It  is  a 
temple  of  Confucius,  and  the  simplicity  of  the  few 
which  I was  able  to  enter  contrasts  boldly  with  the 
crowded  and  grotesque  monstrosities  of  the  Bud- 
dhist and  Taoist  temples.  Truly  the  “ Great 
Teacher”  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  men,  for  he 
has  cast  into  a mould  of  iron  for  two  thousand 
years  the  thought,  social  order,  literature,  gov- 
ernment, and  education  of  400,000,000  of  our 
race. 

Passing  Sar-pu,  a village  composed  almost  entirely 
of  fine  temples,  and  through  Chin-tai,  where  the 
temples  are  of  great  size  and  the  carved  stone  front 
of  one  of  them  of  great  beauty,  under  many  highly 


32B  The  Yangtze  Valley 

decorated  pai-fangs , and  past  some  Chinese  Chats- 
worths  and  Eatons,  and  large  “ brick  noggin  ” 
farmhouses,  we  re-entered  hills  and  afterwards 
mountains,  crossing  the  beautiful  pass  of  Fuh-ri- 
gan  by  a fine  stone  staircase  of  over  5000  broad, 
easy  steps,  with  a handsome  curbstone,  all  in 
perfect  repair ! These  stairs  begin  at  the  bridge 
and  inn  of  Shan-rang-sar,  more  Tyrolese  than 
Chinese  in  aspect.  Indeed,  every  day  I dropped 
some  preconceived  ideas  of  what  Chinese  scenery 
and  buildings  must  be  like,  and  I hope  that  my 
readers  will  drop  theirs,  if  they  are  of  willow-plate 
origin,  before  they  have  finished  this  volume. 

I had  now  entered  on  the  fringe  of  one  of  the 
richest  coal  regions  in  the  world,  seams  of  coal, 
practicably  inexhaustible,  apparently  underlying  the 
whole  surface  of  Central  Sze  Chuan.  Limestone 
mountains  and  cliffs,  and  caverned  limestone  with 
an  infinite  variety  of  ferns,  had  suggested  the  prob- 
able neighbourhood  of  coal,  and  in  these  mount- 
ains it  is  to  be  encountered  everywhere.  It  crops 
out  even  in  the  redundant  vegetation  by  the  road- 
side, and  near  the  mountain  hamlets  the  children, 
with  small  baskets,  hack  it  daily  with  rough  knives, 
for  cooking  purposes.  It  appears  in  lumps  along 
the  beds  of  streams,  in  the  sides  of  the  tanks  in 
which  bamboo  is  macerated  for  paper,  and  in  the 


330 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

mountain-sides,  where  small  collieries,  with  most 
primitive  “workings,”  exist. 

My  attention  was  several  times  attracted  by 
sheds  among  the  trees,  and  by  men  and  boys 
crawling  out  of  holes  in  the  cliff  side  with  baskets, 
the  black  contents  of  which  they  deposited  in 
these.  Also,  occasionally  scrambling  up  to  a black 
orifice  in  the  limestone  I came  upon  a “ gallery,” 
four  feet  high,  down  which  Lilliputian  waggons, 
holding  about  one  hundredweight  each,  descend 
from  “ workings  ” within  along  a tramway  only 
twelve  inches  wide.  From  some  holes  boys  crept 
out  with  small  creels,  holding  not  more  than 
twenty-five  pounds,  roped  on  their  backs,  and  little 
room  to  spare  above  them.  All  these  “ workings  ” 
between  Liang:shan  and  Wen-kia-cha,  sixty  /z’,1 
were  at  a considerable  height  above  the  torrent, 
which  dashed  down  what  was  frequently  only  a 
ravine,  and  all  that  could  be  seen  were  small 
borings  just  large  enough  to  admit  a man  crawl- 
ing, or,  in  some  cases,  the  small  trollies  before 
mentioned. 

In  that  mountain  region,  in  which  I gathered 
from  many  symptoms  that  the  people  are  specially 
superstitious,  the  coal  seams  are  only  worked  on  a 

1 1 cannot  give  the  local  distances  in  English  miles,  because,  though  the 
Chinese  li  is  1818  English  feet,  the  li  of  the  mountain  and  the  plain,  and 
even  of  the  good  and  bad  road,  differ  in  length. 


Liang-Shan  Hsien  to  Hsia-Shan-Po  33 1 


level,  not  downwards,  for  fear  of  grazing  the 
Dragon’s  back  and  making  him  shake  the  earth, 
but  they  cannot  say  whether  it  is  a universal  dragon, 
the  curves  of  whose  tremendous  spine  are  omni- 
present, or  a provincial  or  a local  dragon  ! On  the 
plain  from  which  I had  ascended  fuel  is  scarce  and 
dear,  and  strings  of  coolies,  each  carrying  two 
hundredweight,  supply  it  with  coal  from  these 
mountains.  Lump  coal,  burning  with  but  little 
smoke  or  ash,  is  worth  2 s.  6 d.  per  ton  at  the  “ pit’s 
mouth,”  and  is  retailed  at  from  4 s.  to  55-.  per  ton, 
according  to  distance,  in  the  low  country.  Later 
I saw  many  collieries  worked  with  some  skill  and 
with  a very  large  “ output.” 

Though  it  rained  heavily  all  day,  the  atmosphere 
was  fairly  clear.  That  pass  of  Fuh-ri-gan  is  as 
beautiful  as  the  finest  parts  of  Japan,  which  it  much 
resembles  — lonely,  romantic,  shut  in  by  high- 
peaked,  fantastic  mountains,  forest-clothed  to  their 
summits,  and  cleft  by  deep  ravines,  with  tumbling 
torrents,  fern  and  lycopodium  - fringed.  In  the 
forest  there  were  six  varieties  of  coniferae,  oaks, 
chestnuts,  walnuts,  the  Cunninghames  sinensis  (?), 
a tree  of  great  beauty  and  much  utility,  the  fine 
evergreen  Hoangho  {Ficus  infectoria ),  the  Xylosma 
japonica,  with  laurel-like  leafage,  and  many  others, 
including  a leafless  tree  which  was  a mass  of  pink 


332 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

blossoms.  Of  evergreen  shrubs  and  trailers  I 
counted  thirty-seven  near  the  roadside  ! 

But  the  speciality  of  these  passes  is  the  bamboo. 
There  are  high  hills  forested  to  their  summits 
with  different  varieties,  a singular  and  beauti- 
ful sight,  with  an  infinite  variety  of  colour.  There 
are  the  golden-plumed  bamboo,  with  its  golden 
stems  and  the  golden  light  under  its  golden  plumes, 
the  plumed  dark  green  and  the  plumed  light  green, 
full-plumed  things  of  perfect  beauty,  as  tall  as 
forest  trees  of  average  height.  There  is  also  a 
feathery  bamboo  with  branches  pointing  upwards, 
a creation  of  exquisite  grace,  light  and  delicate, 
with  its  stem  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  attaining 
a height  of  fully  seventy  feet,  all  forming  a dense 
but  not  an  entangled  mass.  At  one  point,  1400 
straight,  broad  “ altar  stairs,  slope  through  darkness 
up  to  God,”  a majestic  sight,  for  from  either  side 
the  great  green  and  golden-plumed  bamboos  droop 
gracefully  to  meet  each  other,  and  the  staircase 
mounts  upward  in  a golden  twilight.  Altogether 
that  pass  is  a glory  of  trees,  ferns,  and  trailers, 
mostly  sub-tropical,  and  is  noisy  with  -the  clash  of 
torrents,  though  silent  as  to  bird  life.  During  the 
whole  day  the  only  birds  I saw  were  some  blue  jays. 

But  not  sub-tropical  was  the  raw,  damp,  pene- 
trating wind,  which  blew  half  a gale  at  the  top  of 


Liang-Shan  Hsien  to  Hsia-Shan-Po  333 

the  pass,  and  pretty  miserable  was  the  inn  in  the 
fertile,  green,  malarious  hole  to  which  we  made  an 
abrupt  descent  of  1500  feet.  My  stout  “regula- 
tion ” waterproof,  which  had  withstood  the  storm 
and  stress  of  many  Asiatic  journeys,  had  given 
way  ; the  waterproof  covers  of  most  of  the  bag- 
gage, torn  by  rough  usage,  let  the  water  through  ; 
and  my  cushions  were  soaked.  I had  only  six 
inches  to  spare  on  either  side  of  my  stretcher  in 
the  absolutely  dark  and  noxious  hole  in  which  I 
slept.  The  candle-wicks  were  wet,  spluttered,  and 
went  out,  and  I had  to  eat  in  the  darkness  rendered 
visible  by  the  inn  lamp. 

But  in  such  country  places  the  people  are  quiet 
and  harmless,  and  I sat  for  a long  time  in  the  open 
public  space,  where  the  black  rafters  dripped  black 
slime.  The  attempt  at  a fire  was  in  the  centre  of 
the  clay  floor,  over  which  a big  black  pot  hung 
from  the  roof.  My  drowned  coolies  huddled  up  in 
their  wadded  quilts,  and  I in  a blanket,  and  two 
wretched,  ragged,  hatless,  shoeless,  half-clad  chai- 
jen,  were  all  trying  to  light  the  end  of  a green 
sapling  with  some  damp  straw.  It  was  truly  de- 
plorable, squalor  without  picturesqueness,  and  fail- 
ing to  get  warm  I went  shivering  to  bed. 

The  following  morning  was  dry  and  fair,  with  a 
little  feeble  sunshine.  Crossing  the  Sai-pei-tu 


334 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

Pass,  at  a height  of  1 7 20  feet,  on  which,  as  on  the 
Fuh-ri-gan,  there  were  several  collieries,  all  respect- 
ful to  the  Dragon’s  back,  we  passed  through  very 
interesting  country  all  day,  at  times  fascinating 
from  its  novelty. 

Cities  of  refuge  crowded  on  nearly  inaccessible 
rocks  can  be  seen  miles  away,  one  a special  marvel, 
built  anywhere  and  everywhere  on  an  isolated  rock, 
resembling  Mont  St.  Michel,  another  with  a strik- 
ing temple  of  enormous  size  for  its  centre,  with 
monastic  buildings,  fortifications,  “ brick  noggin  ” 
houses,  clinging  as  they  can  to  the  rock,  piled  one 
on  another  round  it,  the  whole  surrounded  by  an 
embattled  wall  following  the  contour  of  the  rock. 
They  are  second  in  picturesqueness  only  to  the 
lama-serais  of  Tibet. 

As  the  country  became  more  open,  besides  these 
fortified  refuges  on  rocky  heights,  which  suggest 
possible  peril,  while  the  frequency  with  which  soli- 
tary houses  occur  tells  of  complete  security,  there  are 
great  solitary  temples  with  porcelain  fronts  in  rich 
colouring,  mandarins,  and  landowners’  houses  rival- 
ling some  of  our  renowned  English  homes  in  size 
and  stateliness,  distilleries,  paper  and  flour  mills ; 
and  every  town  and  large  village  has  its  special 
industry — silk  weaving,  straw  plaiting,  hat  making, 
dressing  hides,  iron  or  brass  work,  pottery  and  china, 


BRIDGE  AND  INN  OF  SHAN-RANG-SAR 


335 


33^  The  Yangtze  Valley 

chairmaking  and  bamboo  furniture  generally,  indigo 
dyeing,  carving  and  gilding  idols,  making  the  red 
paper  enormously  used  for  religious  and  festive 
purposes,  and  the  imitation  gold  and  silver  coins  and 
“ shoes  ” burned  as  offerings  to  ancestors,  etc. 

The  weather  became  so  grim  that  of  the  large 
mansions,  splendid  from  a distance,  I was  only  able 
to  get  'a  very  poor  photograph  of  one.  The  man- 
darin proprieter  with  many  attendants  came  out  to 
the  high-road,  and  asked  me  to  “take”  his  family. 
I said  I could  not,  for  I could  not  finish  the  por- 
traits in  such  weather  in  less  than  three  or  four 
days ; and  then  he  asked  me  to  be  his  guest  for 
those  days,  and  he  would  give  me  a large  room.  I 
did  not  wish  to  pose  as  an  itinerant  photographer, 
and  had  grave  doubts  as  to  what  my  reception  might 
really  be  in  the  women’s  quarters,  and  I dreaded 
the  stifling  curiosity  succeeded  by  the  stagnation  of 
dullness,  so  I excused  myself. 

The  stone  bridges  on  the  road  are  very  fine,  with 
piers  terminating  in  bold  carvings,  frequently  of 
dragons,  but  occasionally  comically  realistic,  such 
as  a man  carrying  an  oil  basket,  a man  yawning,  a 
dog  with  his  head  between  his  legs,  a woman  comb- 
ing a girl’s  hair,  and  the  like.  Three  and  four 
arches  with  a bold  spring  are  frequent ; the  parapets 
are  decorated  ; and  though  the  road  may  be  only 


PORCELAIN  TEMPLE 


338  The  Yangtze  Valley 

six  feet  wide,  on  the  roadways  of  some  of  the 
bridges  three  carriages  can  drive  abreast.  There 
are  other  and  older  bridges  in  which  the  piers  are 
heavy  uprights  of  stone  supporting  stone  flags  oc- 
casionally twenty-five  and  even  thirty  feet  long. 
The  new,  arched  bridges,  of  which  the  province 
may  well  be  proud,  are  sometimes  built  by  sub- 
scription, but  are  often  the  public-spirited  gift  of  a 
local  magnate,  whose  name  and  good  deed  are 
recorded  in  stone.  The  wooden  bridges,  which  I 
found  always  in  good  repair,  are  like  those  of  Swit- 
zerland, and,  like  them,  have  substantial  roofs  fre- 
quently double  and  occasionally  treble-tiered,  often 
covered  with  glazed  ridge  and  furrow  tiles.  Some 
of  these  roofs  are  lined  with  highly  polished  carna- 
tion-red lacquer,  in  which  the  names  of  the  donors, 
with  complimentary  sentences,  are  deeply  incised 
in  gold.  In  some  bridges  the  row  of  pillars  sup- 
porting the  roof  is  also  lacquered  and  polished. 
There  are  several  bridges  which  I crossed  in  Sze 
Chuan  of  from  eight  to  twelve  lofty  stone  arches 
each,  which  for  stability,  beauty,  span,  height,  and 
spring  of  the  arches  might  compare,  and  scarcely 
unfavourably,  with  some  of  our  finest  English  struct- 
ures. In  China  I never  once  had,  as  in  Persia,  Korea, 
and  Kashmir,  to  ford  a stream  because  the  bridge 
was  either  ruinous  or  too  shaky  to  venture  upon. 


Liang-Shan  Hsien  to  Hsia-Shan-Po  339 

The  industries  of  the  towns  and  villages  produce 
a large  amount  of  traffic  on  the  roads.  Strings  of 
coolies  going  at  a dog  trot,  carrying  paper,  salt, 
tobacco,  dyed  cottons,  hats,  and  rush  piths  for 
lamps,  passed  us  incessantly,  but  no  beasts  of  bur- 
den, and  only  one  saddle  pony,  which  tripped  rapidly 
down  one  of  the  longest  flights  of  stairs  with  ease 
and  agility.  The  woods  are  silent ; the  call  of  the 
handsome  pheasant  to  his  dowdy  mate  was  the 
only  bird  note  I heard.  There  is  a great  paucity 
of  such  animals  as  make  our  farmyards  cheerful.  I 
did  not  see  horses  or  mules  anywhere  between  Wan 
Hsien  and  Paoning  Fu,  or  sheep.  Fowls,  geese, 
and  ducks  there  were  in  abundance,  a few  cats,  and 
many  old  dogs,  the  young  ones  having  been  mostly 
eaten  early  in  the  month. 

The  water  buffalo  ploughs,  harrows  the  rice 
swamps,  turns  the  grain  and  oil  mills,  and  does 
many  other  useful  turns.  I never  saw  him  used  as 
a beast  of  burden.  It  is  hard  to  become  reconciled 
to  the  appearance  of  the  great  “ water  ox,”  with 
his  mostly  hairless,  blackish-grey  skin,  in  places 
with  a pinkish  hue,  and  his  flat  head,  carried  level 
with  his  uncouth,  unwieldly  body,  his  flat  nose  and 
curved  flat  horns,  looking  altogether  like  a survival 
from  antediluvian  days.  Buffaloes  are  uncertain  in 
their  tempers,  though  usually  very  docile,  and,  like 


34°  The  Yangtze  Valley 

their  owners,  are  liable  to  frenzies  of  fury  when 
frightened. 

On  this  route  it  was  amusing  to  see  very  small 


THE  WATER  BUFFALO 

children  leading  them  out  to  feed  on  the  grass 
which  grows  on  the  edges  of  the  rice  dykes,  the 
children  clambering  on  their  backs  and  sitting 
there  while  they  fed,  because  there  was  no  other 
dry  land  to  sit  on.  They  are  extremely  sensitive 
to  the  bites  of  insects,  and,  for  this  and  other  rea- 
sons, spend  much  of  their  leisure  time  lying  in 
muddy  pools  which  are  dug  for  their  benefit.  A 


Liang-Shan  Hsien  to  Hsia-Shan-Po  341 

group  of  their  grotesque,  flat  heads  appearing  above 
the  water  is  truly  comical.  They  are  credited 
with  a great  aversion  to  what  the  Chinese  call  the 
“ odour  ” of  Europeans,  and  I have  seen  a herd  of 
them  “ go  for  ” a foreigner  in  such  an  unmistakably 
vindictive  fashion  that  he  took  to  his  heels.  The 
buffalo  cow  gives  a small  quantity  of  very  rich  milk 
with  a peculiar  flavour.  The  beef  obtainable  in 
Sze  Chuan  is  mostly  buffalo,  and  is  often  the  flesh 
of  an  animal  which  has  rendered  man  many  years 
of  service. 

On  that  day’s  journey  the  heralds  of  the  short 
and  glorious  procession  of  flowers  appeared  : plum, 
peach,  and  cherry  blossom ; violets  grew  in  shady 
places  ; a clematis  lighted  up  the  margins  of  woods 
with  pendent  clusters  of  bright  yellow  bloom  ; pink 
and  white  fumitories  made  the  roadside  hedges  gay, 
and  there  were  a few  others. 

The  dampness  was  incredible,  and  as  I had  then 
made  nearly  two  degrees  north  from  Wan  Hsien, 
the  temperature  had  fallen,  and  the  mercury  hung 
at  about  440.  I never  knew  so  damp  an  atmo- 
sphere, even  in  Japan.  Ferns,  mosses,  trailers,  and 
all  the  beauteous  vegetation  which  revels  in  damp 
abounded.  The  leafage  of  the  root  crops  was 
lush  and  succulent.  There  is  no  winter,  and  though 
only  the  last  of  February,  the  opium  crop,  which 


342 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

over  much  of  the  day’s  journey  was  the  principal 
crop,  with  maize  sown  between  the  rows,  was  eight 
inches  high,  and  its  lower  leaves,  which  are  used  as 
food  by  the  people  and  taste  like  spinach,  were 
served  to  me  that  night  for  the  first  time  as  a vege- 
table.  Travelling  all  day  in  such  a damp,  chilly 
atmosphere,  in  wet  clothes,  was  a little  trying.  It 
is  impossible  to  dry  anything  in  the  small,  poor, 
country  inns. 

We  passed  through  the  town  of  Yun-i,  with  a 
street  half  a mile  long,  in  which  every  house  is 
given  up  to  the  making  or  staining  of  red  and  yel- 
low paper,  which  is  enormously  used,  especially  at 
the  New  Year,  which  was  just  over.  Everyone 
nearly  was  more  or  less  smeared  with  these  bril- 
liant colours,  and  the  stream  outside  the  town  was 
red  as  blood.  Hundreds  of  coolies  were  travelling 
both  north  and  south  with  bales  of  this  paper. 

I had  various  qualms  as  I passed  through  the 
low,  dark  gateway,  especially  when  I saw  men  run- 
ning ahead  to  collect  a crowd,  calling  in  at  the 
shops  and  houses,  “ A foreigner ! ” or  “ A foreign 
devil ! ” but  though  the  crowd  completely  filled  the 
street  and  was  noisy,  it  was  neither  hostile  nor  a 
mob.  One  cause  of  the  trouble  at  Liang-shan  was 
that  the  chai-jen,  instead  of  keeping  with  me,  went 
off  to  the  yamen.  After  that  I insisted  that  one  of 


344 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

them,  when  we  reached  a town  or  large  village, 
should  walk  in  front  of  my  chair.  At  Yun-i  a run- 
ner went  before  me  striding  fiercely,  a rugged, 
scrofulous,  shoeless,  hatless,  wretched  little  fellow, 
but  as  he  carried  the  mandarin’s  letter,  when  the 
people  crowded  and  progress  was  impeded,  he 
waved  his  arms  and  pushed  them  right  and  left, 
shouting  the  Chinese  equivalent  of  “ In  the  kuaris 
name.” 

One  great  feature  of  that  day’s  journey  was 
coal.  Coal  cropped  up  everywhere,  and  any  cut- 
ting revealed  a seam  of  coal.  Over  a hundred- 
weight— one  hundred  catties— -sold  for  forty  cash 
(about  five  farthings),  picked  lumps  burning  with 
a clear  flame.  Miners  earn  twenty  cash  per  one 
hundred  catties,  and  can  get  six  hundred  in  a day. 
There  is  iron  in  the  neighbourhood.  From  one 
hill  I saw  a considerable  smoke,  and  the  chai-jen 
said  it  proceeded  from  large  smelting  works,  but  I 
only  give  this  as  hearsay.  I observed  that  many 
articles  which  I had  elsewhere  seen  made  of  wood 
are  in  this  region  made  of  iron,  and  that  iron  is 
liberally  used  on  household  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments. In  the  peasants’  houses  coal  is  burned  in  a 
hole  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and  the  smoke  finds 
its  way  out  anywhere,  as  it  used  to  do  in  Highland 
hovels. 


Liang-Shan  Hsien  to  Hsia-Shan-Po  345 

After  a very  varied  day’s  journey  the  damp  cold 
became  so  paralysing,  and  the  mist  so  thick,  that  I 
halted  earlier  than  usual  at  the  small  mountain 
hamlet  of  Hsai-shan-po,  where  the  wayside  inn  was 
new,  indeed  not  finished,  and  consisted  only  of  a 
central  shed  with  a fire  of  bituminous  coal  burning 
with  heavy  smoke  in  a hole  in  the  middle  of  the 
floor,  and  a room  on  either  side,  one  occupied  by 
the  host,  a “ decent  man,”  and  his  well-behaved 
family.  The  partitions  are  lath  and  plaster,  the 
walls  beginninga  foot  from  the  ground  and  ending 
two  feet  from  the  roof,  allowing  the  entrance  of 
some  light,  much  draught,  many  hens  a few  young 
pigs,  and  great  clouds  of  smoke. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

HSAI-SHAN-PO  TO  SIAO-KIAO 

IT  was  partly  to  get  Sunday’s  rest  in  peace  and 
quietness  that  I put  up  at  this  mountain  hamlet. 
I could  see  to  read  and  write  without  opening  the 
doors  and  could  move  round  my  bed,  and  the  smells 
were  not  so-  awful  as  usual.  The  central  shed  was 
full  all  day,  and  occasionally  the  women  who  came 
sent  a polite  request  that  I would  exhibit  myself  to 
them,  to  which  I always  cheerfully  responded. 

The  “ enormous  size  ” of  my  feet,  though  my 
shoes  are  only  threes,  interested  them  greatly.  I 
was  much  surprised  to  find  that  in  Sze  Chuan,  ex- 
cept among  the  Manchu  or  Tartar  women  and  those 
of  a degraded  class,  foot-binding  is  universal,  and 
the  shoe  of  even  the  poorest  and  most  hard-worked 
peasant  woman  does  not  exceed  four  inches  in 
length.  Though  in  walking  these  “golden  lilies” 
look  like  hoofs,  and  the  women  hobble  on  their 
heels,  I have  seen  them  walk  thirty  li  In  a day,  and 
some  have  told  me  that  they  can  walk  sixty  easily ! 
346 


Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao 


347 


Two  women  came  to  Hsia-shan-po  from  a village 
twenty-seven  mountain  li  away,  merely  out  of  curi- 
osity to  see  me,  and  returned  the  same  afternoon. 
The  hobble  looks  as  if  it  must  be  very  painful,  and 
is  a sort  of  waddle  also. 

So  great  an  authority  as  Dr.  Wells  Williams 
writes,  “ The  practice  ...  is  more  an  incon- 
venient than  a dangerous  custom,”  but  I have  never 
seen  a hospital  in  China  without  some  case  or  cases 
not  only  of  extreme  danger  to  the  foot  or  great 
toe,  but  of  ulcers  or  gangrene,  involving  abso- 
lute loss  by  amputation.  It  is  fashion,  of  course. 
Hitherto  a Chinese  woman  with  “big  feet  ” is 
either  denationalised  or  vile  ; a girl  with  unbound 
feet  would  have  no  chance  of  marriage,  and  a bride- 
groom, finding  that  his  bride  had  large  feet  when  he 
expected  small  ones,  would  be  abundantly  justified 
by  public  opinion  in  returning  her  at  once  to  her 
parents.1  It  is  essentially  a native  Chinese  custom  of 
extreme  antiquity,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Man- 
chu  conquerors,  who  successfully  imposed  the  “ pig- 
tail ” and  narrow  sleeves  on  the  conquered,  have 
totally  failed  even  to  modify  this  barbarous  custom. 

1 I was  present  at  a “ drawing-room  meeting”  in  Shanghai  when  Mrs. 
Archibald  Little,  of  Chungking,  took  the  humane  initiative  of  establishing 
an  ‘ ‘ Anti-F oot-binding  Society,”  which  has  now  many  branches,  and  is  un- 
doubtedly commending  its  aims  to  many  men  of  the  intelligent  classes. 
The  mission  schools  for  girls  are  in  general  absolutely  against  the  crippling 
process,  and  the  wives  of  many  of  the  younger  Christians  have  “ big  feet.” 


34^ 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

There  is  no  definite  age  for  beginning  to  bind 
the  feet,  but  rich  people’s  girls  usually  have  it  done 
between  four  and  five  years,  and  poor  people’s 
either  at  betrothal  or  between  seven  and  nine  years, 
according  to  local  custom.  The  process  is  very 
much  more  painful  at  the  latter  age,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  the  big  toe  is  different.  In  the  case  of  the 
younger  child,  four  of  the  toes  are  doubled  under 
the  foot,  the  big  toe  is  laid  on  the  top,  and  the  de- 
formity is  then  tightly  bandaged.  In  both  cases  in 
adult  life,  when  the  process  is  complete,  there  is  a 
deep  cleft  across  the  sole  of  the  foot  between  the 
heel  and  toes,  which  are  forced  close  together.  If 
skilfully  bound,  this  cleft  ought  to  be  deep  and  nar- 
row enough  to  hold  a Mexican  dollar.  The  foot- 
binding process  is  too  well  known  to  need  any 
description. 

I saw  the  initial  stage  both  at  Canton  and  Hsia- 
shan-po.  In  the  last  case  the  girl  was  nearly  ten, 
and  was  just  betrothed  to  an  elderly  rich  man.  She 
suffered  agonies,  the  toes  were  violently  bent  under 
the  foot  and  bandaged  in  that  position,  and  from 
the  sounds  I think  that  some  of  the  tendons  were 
ruptured.  Yet  both  she  and  a small  child  at  Can- 
ton consented  willingly  in  order  to  get  “ rich  hus- 
bands.” The  lot  of  the  women  of  the  lower  class 
is  rough  and  severe,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 


Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao 


349 


girls  long  to  escape  from  it  by  making  rich  mar- 
riages, even  though  the  escape  be  by  such  a path  of 
pain.  Then  again  the  weak  feminine  nature  desires 
to  secure  the  admiration  which  in  poetry,  prose, 
and  common  speech  is  bestowed  on  the  “ golden 
lilies.” 

A woman  has  to  bandage  her  feet  every  day  of 
her  life,  or  the  “beauty”  of  the  shape  is  lost,  and 
the  whole  process  of  deforming  them  is  carried 
out  by  carefully  regulated  bandaging.  The  Chinese 
women  greatly  object  to  show  their  uncovered  feet. 
I have  only  twice  seen  them.  They  are  very  pain- 
ful objects,  and  the  leg,  the  development  of  the 
muscles  of  the  calf  having  been  checked,  tapers 
from  the  knee  to  the  foot,  and  there  are  folds  of 
superfluous  skin.  The  bandages  are  not  covered 
by  stockings.  The  shoes  worn  are  very  soft,  and 
where  possible  are  of  embroidered  silk,  with  soles 
of  stitched  leather.  The  women  make  their  own, 
and  the  peasant  women  sit  outside  their  houses  in 
the  evenings  stitching  or  embroidering  them. 

As  a set-off  against  the  miseries  of  foot-binding 
is  the  extreme  comfort  of  a Chinese  woman’s  dress 
in  all  classes,  no  corsets  or  waist-bands,  or  con- 
straints of  any  kind,  and  possibly  the  full  develop- 
ment of  the  figure  which  it  allows  mitigates  or 
obviates  the  evils  which  we  should  think  would 


350 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

result  from  altering  its  position  on  the  lower  limbs. 
So  comfortable  is  Chinese  costume,  and  such  free- 
dom does  it  give,  that  since  I wore  it  in  Manchuria 
and  on  this  journey,  I have  not  been  able  to  take 
kindly  to  European  dress. 

But  in  Sze  Chuan  it  varies  from  woman’s  dress, 
either  Manchu  or  Chinese,  as  I had  previously  seen 
it  worn.  All  Chinese  women  wear  trousers,  but 
they  show  very  little,  often  not  at  all,  below  the 
neat  petticoat,  with  its  plain  back  and  front  and  full 
kilted  sides.  But  in  Sze  Chuan  (and  it  may  be 
elsewhere)  the  feminine  skirt  is  discarded,  and  the 
trousers,  either  of  a sailor  cut,  or  full  and  tightly 
swathed  round  what  should  be  ankles,  are  worn 
with  only  the  ordinary  loose,  wide-sleeved  garment 
fastening  at  the  side,  reaching  only  to  the  knees 
above  them.  It  is  a hideous  dress.  The  petticoat 
is  only  worn  by  outcasts  and  this  has  compelled 
some  of  the  missionary  ladies,  who  wear  Chinese 
dress,  to  adopt  the  wide  trousers.  I never  became 
reconciled  to  them.  The  loose  upper  garment  and 
half  jacket,  half  sleeved  cloak,  is  most  convenient, 
as  for  changes  of  seasons  only  easily  carried  changes 
of  underclothing  are  needed. 

After  the  disturbance  at  Liang-shan  I took  my 
revolver,  which  I had  previously  carried  in  the  well 
of  my  chair,  “ into  common  wear,”  putting  it  into  a 


Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao 


35i 


very  pacific  looking  cotton  bag,  and  attached  it  to 
my  belt  under  this  capacious  garment,  hoping  de- 
voutly that  its  six  ball  cartridges  might  always  re- 
pose peacefully  in  their  chambers.  It  is  most  unwise 
to  let  fire-arms  be  seen  in  Chinese  travelling. 

From  Hsia-shan-po  onwards  the  country  is  less 
romantic.  We  had  previously  left  the  main  road, 
and  encountered  Chinese  roads  at  their  worst,  nar- 
row dykes  passing  through  flooded  rice-fields,  or 
through  farms  where  the  farmers  gradually  nibble 
the  road  away,  or  convey  it  tortuously  through  their 
own  farmyards,  or  in  a few  cases  absorb  it  alto- 
gether. The  mud  for  days  was  deep.  It  was 
impossible  to  walk  unless  equipped  with  an  ar- 
rangement which  attached  three  spikes  to  the  heel 
of  the  boot  or  sandal.  The  width  of  the  road  was 
usually  twelve  inches,  enough  for  single  file,  but 
when  two  strings  of  men  carrying  chairs  or  burdens 
met,  the  difficulties  were  great,  as  there  was  always 
the  risk  of  slipping  off  the  road,  into  two  feet  of 
chilly  water  and  slime.  So  when  my  chair-bearers 
saw  another  chair  in  the  distance  they  yelled  as 
loud  as  they  could,  expecting  the  other  chair  to 
give  place,  and  edge  off  where  the  strip  of  terra 
Jirma  happened  to  widen  a little. 

On  one  occasion,  however,  we  met  a portly  man 
in  a closed  chair,  travelling  with  only  two  bearers. 


352  The  Yangtze  Valley 

and,  in  spite  of  yells,  he  came  straight  on  till  our 
poles  were  nearly  touching.  The  clamour  was 
tremendous,  my  seven  men  and  his  two  all  shouting 
and  screaming  at  once,  as  if  in  a perfect  fury, 
while  he  sat  in  supercilious  calm,  I achieving  the 
calm,  but  not  the  superciliousness.  In  the  midst 
of  the  fracas  his  chair  and  its  bearers  went  over 
into  the  water.  The  noise  was  indescribable,  and 
my  bearers,  whom  I cannot  acquit  of  having  had 
something  to  do  with  the  disaster,  went  off  at  a 
run  with  yells  and  peals  of  laughter,  leaving  the 
traveller  floundering  in  the  mire,  not  breathing,  but 
roaring  execrations. 

There  are  roads  “ of  sorts  ” to  every  village  and 
hamlet.  The  one  I was  travelling  on  was  called 
by  courtesy  a main  road.  There  was  nothing 
“ main  ” about  it  but  the  bridges,  which  were 
always  in  good  repair,  and  four  or  five  times  its 
width.  Had  it  been  reduced  to  its  present  dimen- 
sions by  successful  nibblings,  or  were  the  bridges 
built  in  a glowing  prophetic  instinct,  I wonder  ? 
The  magistrate  of  the  district  is  nominally  responsi- 
ble for  keeping  the  roads  in  order,  but  responsibility 
is  an  elastic  term  in  China.  As  in  Korea,  he  has 
the  power  to  order  men  out  to  work  at  repairs,  but 
he  rarely  does  so  unless  he  gets  notice  of  a forth- 
coming visit  of  a high  official,  for  the  people  hate 


Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao 


353 


work  without  pay,  and  he  avoids  this  method  of 
becoming  unpopular. 

Nothing  could  be  worse  than  the  road  which  I 
travelled  for  some  days.  To  walk  was  to  slide,  wade, 
slip,  and  fall  in  the  deep  mud  ; to  “ride”  gave  me 
the  unpleasing  spectacle  of  my  coolies  doing  the 
same,  exposing  me  to  sundry  abrupt  changes  of 
position,  and  the  difficulty  of  passing  chairs  and 
laden  porters  on  the  road  made  progress  slow  and 
tiresome.  Yet  much  produce  was  on  the  move, 
giving  the  impression  that  traffic  would  increase 
largely  if  there  were  better  means  of  communication. 
One  of  the  many  needs  of  China  is  good  roads. 
There  are  many  rivers  in  Sze  Chuan,  but  its 
physical  configuration  usually  prevents  the  linking 
of  these  by  canals,  as  in  the  level  eastern  prov- 
inces, and  these  infamous  roads  hamper  trade  very 
considerably. 

Raw,  cold,  drizzling  hours  succeeded  Hsia-shan- 
po.  The  country  is  less  peopled,  and  the  dwellings 
decidedly  poorer ; the  corries  with  their  large 
farmhouses  disappeared,  and  there  was  even  a 
stretch  of  gravelly,  desolate  scenery.  Wherever 
the  land  is  unfitted  for  rice  culture  the  population 
becomes  thin,  as  the  price  of  this  staff  of  life  is  so 
much  enchanced  by  land  carriage  as  to  render  it 
unattainable. 


354 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

I crossed  the  pretty  pass  of  Kyin-pan-si,  and 
ferried  the  Kin  Ho,  a clear,  bright  stream.  There 
is  very  much  opium  grown  in  that  region,  and 
some  sugar-cane,  as  well  as  all  the  usual  cereals  and 
root  crops.  “ Small  cash  ” appeared,  and  continued 
for  three  days  the  currency  of  the  region,  increasing 
the  exasperation  of  all  transactions.  The  Kiu  Ho 
is  navigable  for  fair-sized  junks  considerably  above 
the  point  at  which  I crossed  it,  and  there  was  much 
traffic  in  coal  at  Kiu  Hsien,  a prefectural  city 
finely  situated  on  the  cliffs  and  hills  above  it. 

Incredible  filth,  Indescribable  odours,  which  ought 
to  receive  a strong  Anglo-Saxon  name,  grime,  for- 
lornness, bustle,  business,  and  discordant  noises 
characterise  Chinese  cities,  and  the  din  of  Kiu 
Ilsien  was  deafening.  I was  carried  from  the  river 
up  a fine,  new,  broad  flight  of  stone  stairs,  at  the 
top  of  which  a great  crowd  was  in  readiness  to  re- 
ceive me,  but  the  chai-jen , whose  rags  hardly 
covered  them,  and  who  turned  out  to  be  beggars  to 
whom  the  right  of  escorting  me  had  been  sold, 
cleared  the  way,  and  turning  aside  at  the  deep, 
dark  city  gate,  along  a narrow  street  running  under 
the  wall,  I was  landed  among  the  crowds  and  horrors 
of  the  yards  of  a Chinese  city  inn  by  no  means  of 
the  first  class.  However,  I got  a room,  which, 
though  small,  dirty,  and  tumbling  to  pieces,  had  an 


Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao 


355 


opening  upon  the  roof  of  a lean-to,  used  for  the 
malodorous  purpose  of  drying  vegetables,  overhang- 
ing the  river,  and  as  I had  both  air  and  light  I felt 
in  Elysium. 

While  I was  eating  my  curry,  as  usual  from  a 
piece  of  millboard  on  my  lap,  with  a Jaeger  sheet 
pinned  round  my  shoulders — for  it  was  very  cold — 
two  y ’amen  officials,  in  rich  brocaded  silks  and  satins, 
entered,  and  asked  to  see  my  passport,  which  they 
copied,  using  my  camp  bed  for  a table.  Be-dien 
was  much  offended,  for  it  is  outrageous,  according  to 
Chinese  etiquette,  for  men  to  enter  a woman’s 
room.  They  asked  me  why  my  passport  gave  me 
“ rank,”  and  made  me  “ equal  to  the  consuls,”  and 
how  a woman  could  “ belong  to  the  literati ,”  to 
which  questions,  as  at  that  time  I was  ignorant  of 
the  contents  of  the  document,  I could  give  no 
intelligent  replies. 

They  told  me  that  Kiu  Hsien  has  ioo  schools 
(in  China  numbers  are  always  round),  and  is  the 
centre  of  a large  trade  in  opium,  tobacco,  packing 
paper,  and  straw  hats. 

Rooms  in  Chinese  inns  usually  have  good  bolts, 
but  this  had  none,  and  after  dismissing  Be-dien  it 
cost  me  much  time  and  labour  to  barricade  the 
door.  There  was  an  instance  of  superstition  on 
the  day’s  journey.  I got  out  of  the  chair  the  wrong 


356  The  Yangtze  Valley 

way,  and  the  bearers  were  scared.  They  said  it 
would  cause  them  to  die  within  a year,  and  they 
offered  incense  sticks  at  the  next  shrine  to  avert 
the  calamity.  In  the  morning  I was  in  the  family 
room  at  the  inn  when  the  morning  devotions  were 
performed  to  some  gilded  strips  of  paper  inscribed 
with  characters.  The  householder  put  before  them 
some  lighted  incense  sticks,  and  bowed  three  times. 

The  circumstances  of  the  next  day’s  journey 
were  decidedly  unfavourable.  We  had  ten  hours 
of  an  infamous  road  in  a torrent  of  rain  with  a very 
cold  wind.  I could  scarcely  ease  the  bearers  at  all, 
for  my  leather  shoes  slipped  so  badly  on  the  mud, 
that,  even  with  a stout  stick  and  Be-dien’s  help,  I 
could  not  keep  on  my  feet.  The  road,  which  was 
a dyke  between  flooded  rice-fields,  never  reached 
two  feet  in  width.  It  had  once  been  flagged,  but 
some  of  the  stones  had  disappeared  altogether, 
some  were  tilted  up,  and  others  were  tilted  down, 
and  it  was  truly  horrible.  The  Chinese  hate  rain, 
and,  above  all,  getting  their  feet  wet,  and  I admired 
the  jolly,  manly  way  in  which  my  poor  fellows  in 
their  two  thin  cotton  garments  trudged  through  the 
driving  rain  and  slippery  slush  till  they  had  done 
twenty-two  miles.  When  they  reached  at  dusk, 
quite  exhausted,  the  wretched  village  of  Ching-sze- 
yao,  there  was  no  inn,  and  it  was  only  after  I had 


Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao 


357 


sat  in  the  rain  in  the  village  roadway  for  an  hour 
that  the  chai-jen  induced  a man  to  take  us  into  a 
deplorable  place. 

Shelter  it  was  not.  The  roof  dripped  from  fifty 
points,  and  the  walls,  having  shrunk  from  the  joists, 
let  in  the  cold  wind  all  round.  There  was  no  fire 
but  the  fire-pots  used  for  cooking,  for  the  use  of 
which  there  was  much  squabbling,  and  no  light, 
except  from  a clay  saucer  of  oil,  over  the  rim  of 
which  some  rush  piths  projected.  I was  wet  to  the 
knees,  my  canvas  bed  was  soaked,  and  all  else, 
from  the  spoiling  of  waterproof  bags  and  covers  by 
the  hot  sun  of  the  two  previous  summers,  but  when 
I saw  the  coolies  lying  on  damp  straw  in  their  un- 
dried garments,  each  with  a fire-pot  between  his 
knees,  and  not  a quilt  to  cover  him,  I felt  very 
Mark  Tapleyish,  specially  when  the  house-frau 
brought  me  a fire-pot  with  which  to  warm  my 
hands.  The  poverty  and  discomfort  of  this  house 
typified  the  condition  in  which  thousands  of  the 
Chinese  peasantry  live.  They  were  good-natured 
people,  not  over  curious,  and  the  children,  who  were 
eaten  up  by  skin  diseases,  were  gentle  and  docile. 

The  next  day,  March  4th,  was  one  of  clear,  grey 
twilight,  without  either  wind  or  rain.  In  the  last 
fifty  miles  the  country  had  changed  very  consider- 
ably, and  for  the  worse.  The  passes  over  the 


358  The  Yangtze  Valley 

mountain  ranges  had  brought  us  into  the  “ Red 
Basin  ” of  Richthofen,  which  is  estimated  as  em- 
bracing about  two-thirds  of  the  province  in  extent, 
and,  perhaps,  eight-  or  nine-tenths  of  its  wealth  and 
population.  It  is  supposed  to  have  an  area  of 
about  100,000  square  miles,  and  a population  of 
from  40,000,000  to  54,000,000.  The  soil  every- 
where is  of  a deep,  bright,  rich,  red  colour,  and 
contrasts  with  the  charm  of  the  varied  greenery 
which,  In  the  absence  of  winter,  the  Red  Basin 
produces  during  the  whole  year. 

Probably  no  part  of  China  supports  so  large  a 
population  to  the  acre,  and  it  is  increasing  so  fast 
that  thousands  of  men  by  unremitting  toil  only 
keep  themselves  and  their  families  a little  above 
starvation  point,  coolie  labour  being  so  redundant 
as  to  depress  wages  to  the  lowest  level.  The  soil 
is  most  carefully  cultivated,  the  soft  red  rock  being 
easily  crumbled  down  by  the  peasants’  simple  im- 
plements, and  the  whole  surface  is  treated  by  the 
methods  which  we  term  “ garden  cultivation,” 
which  in  that  beneficent  climate,  and  with  the 
Chinese  habit  of  carefully  preserving  the  refuse  of 
towns  and  villages  and  spreading  it  on  the  land,  so 
that  the  whole,  both  from  plant  and  animal  life,  is 
returned  to  the  soil,  two,  three,  and  sometimes  even 
four  crops  are  produced  within  the  year ! 


Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao 


359 


Within  a few  days’  journey  lie  the  depopulated 
but  fertile  valleys  of  Yunnan,  a noble  field  for  Sze 
Chuan  emigration ; but  it  has  not  occurred  to 
the  Government  to  bear  the  considerable  ex- 
pense of  deporting  a few  millions  of  the  toilers 
of  the  Red  Basin  to  the  good  lands  calling  for 
population,  supplying  them  with  seed,  and  sup- 
porting them  for  six  months  ! The  move  would 
tax  the  resources  of  a better-organised  adminis- 
tration. 

Sze  Chuan  is  a rich  and  superb  province  of 
boundless  resources,  and  I believe,  from  what  I 
saw  and  heard,  that  the  trading  and  farming  classes 
are  very  well  off,  and  are  able  to  afford  many  luxu- 
ries, but  I certainly  saw  several  overcrowded  re- 
gions of  the  Red  Basin  where  the  condition  of 
the  people  deeply  moved  my  sympathy  and  pity, 
for  a docile,  cheerful,  industrious,  harmless  popula- 
tion, free,  as  rural  poverty  is  apt  to  be,  from  crime 
and  gross  vice,  is  giving  the  utmost  of  its  strength 
for  a wage  which  never  permits  to  man,  wife,  or 
child  the  comfortable  sensation  of  satiety,  and 
which,  when  rice  rises  in  price,  changes  the  habit- 
ual short  commons  into  starvation. 

There  were  no  more  grand  porcelain-fronted 
temples,  large  country  mansions,  and  rich  farm- 
houses, and  instead  of  parallel  ranges  cleft  by  fine 


3 6° 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

passes  in  the  grey  limestone,  there  is  a singular 
formation,  red  sandstone  hills  and  hummocks  all 
more  or  less  naturally  terraced,  as  are  also  the  sides 
of  the  many  pear-shaped  dells  which  lie  among 
them  ; red  cliffs,  one  above  another,  from  fifteen 
to  thirty  feet  high,  supporting  narrow  strips  of  red 
soil  about  two  feet  deep ; circular  hills,  also  of 
some  height,  diminishing  into  truncated  cones,  with 
natural  circular  terraces,  more  or  less  aided  by  art, 
running  regularly  round  them,  and  usually  a single 
tree,  tops  what  one  is  tempted  to  call  the  “ erec- 
tion.” There  is  a fatiguing  conventionality  about 
that  part  of  the  Red  Basin. 

One  may,  indeed,  regard  the  whole  of  this  vast 
basin  as  a mass  of  low-terraced  hills  and  valleys,  of 
no  width,  destitute  of  any  plains  but  the  great 
Chengtu  plain,  free  from  floods,  owing  to  its  con- 
figuration, and  drained  by  fine  navigable  rivers, 
with  many  navigable  ramifications,  while  coal,  both 
hard  and  soft,  is  believed  to  underlie  the  whole. 
Salt,  petroleum,  and  iron  abound,  and  copper,  sil- 
ver, gold,  and  lead  are  found  on  the  western  border, 
as  well  as  enormous  quantities  of  nitrate  of  soda 
and  sulphur. 

This  great  depression  may  be  regarded  as  a sort 
of  winter  garden,  over  much  of  which  the  mercury 
rarely  falls  below  45  °,  and  a canopy  of  clouds  hanging 


Hsai-Shan-Po  to  Siao-Kiao  361 

over  it  all  the  winter  keeps  in  the  moist  heat.1 
It  is  said  that  winter  sunshine  is  so  rare  in  Chung- 
king that  the  dogs  bark  at  the  sun  when  they  see 
it.  For  all  the  rich  productions  of  this  Red  Basin, 
which  have  kept  the  balance  of  trade  for  years  in 
favour  of  Sze  Chuan,  there  is,  let  me  repeat,  but 
the  one  outlet,  the  Yangtze. 

1 See  Mr.  Bourne’s  Report  on  the  Trade  of  Central  and  Southern  China , 
Foreign  Office,  May,  1898. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
SIAO-KIAO  TO  HSXEH-TIEN-TZE 
HE  whole  country  is  an  undulating  sea  of 


1 green,  patterned  with  red — in  truth,  rather 
monotonous  for  five  days  of  journeying.  The 
mud  was  abominable  all  the  time,  but  with  straw 
shoes  and  grippers  I managed  to  do  a good  deal  of 
walking.  On  several  days  my  well-paid  chair-men 
travelled  “like  gentlemen,”  for  labour  is  so  abund- 
ant and  cheap  that  they  found  plenty  of  coolies  to 
carry  my  chair  for  forty  cash  for  four  miles  (about 
a penny),  and  even  for  less ! Every  house  has  its 
opium  field,  its  bamboo  and  palm  groves,  fruit 
trees  and  cedars,  while  the  Rhus  vernicifera , or 
varnish  tree,  the  Aleurites  cor  data,  or  oil  tree,  and 
the  Cupressus  funebris , which  it  is  impossible  to 
avoid  calling  “the  Noah’s  ark  tree,”  abound.  The 
cultivation,  except  the  ploughing  for  rice,  is  en- 
tirely by  hand,  and  is  so  careful  that  it  is  easy  to 
see  that  most  of  the  indigenous  plants  have  be- 
come extinct.  Violas,  fumitories,  and  the  Anemone 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze  363 


japonica , all  of  which  grow  profusely,  but  solely 
along  the  margins  of  the  roads,  were  all  that  then 
or  later  I saw  in  the  Red  Basin  ; in  fact,  husbandry 
has  made  a clean  sweep  of  “ weeds.” 

The  farmhouses  in  that  region  are  of  mud,  with 
thatched  roofs,  and  look  poor.  Straw  plaiting  and 
the  making  of  the  very  large  straw  hats  which  the 
coolies  wear  in  summer  are  the  great  industries. 
Bad,  nay,  infamous,  roads  and  small  cash  for  three 
days  showed  their  power  of  crippling  trade.  Small 
villages  were  numerous,  but  on  a journey  of  185  li 
the  picturesque  little  town  of  King-mien-sze,  on  the 
rocky,  picturesque,  non-navigable  King-Ho,  which 
I ferried,  was  the  only  approach  to  a centre  of 
population. 

When  I reached  the  small  town  of  Siao-kiao  I 
found  it  greatly  crowded  with  traders,  and  the  inn- 
keepers so  unwilling  to  receive  a foreigner  that  I 
had  to  urge  my  treaty  rights,  and  then  was  only 
grudgingly  accommodated.  There  was  a very 
ugly  rush,  and  then  a riot,  which  lasted  an  hour 
and  a half,  at  the  very  beginning  of  which  my  chai- 
jen  ran  away.  My  door  was  broken  down  with 
much  noise  and  yells  of  “ Foreign  Devil  ! ” 
“Horse-racer!”  “Child-eater!”  but  an  official  ar- 
riving in  the  nick  of  time,  prevented  further 
damage.  He  ought  to  have  appeared  an  hour  and 


364  The  Yangtze  Valley 

a half  before.  These  rows  are  repulsive  and  un- 
bearably fatiguing  after  a day’s  journey,  and  al- 
ways delayed  my  dinner  unconscionably,  which,  as 
it  was  practically  my  only  meal  in  the  day,  was  try- 
ing. The  entry  in  my  diary  for  that  evening  was, 
“Wretched  evening;  riotous  crowd;  everything 
anxious  and  odious ; noises ; too  cold  to  sleep.” 
My  lamp  sputtered  and  went  out,  and  my  matches 
were  too  damp  to  strike.  It  is  objectionable  to  be 
in  the  dark,  you  know  not  where,  with  walls  abso- 
lutely precarious,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  coarse 
shouts  of  rough  men  to  hear  a feeble  accompani- 
ment of  rats  eating  one’s  few  things.  1 object 
strongly  to  a mixed  crowd  blocking  up  my  door- 
way or  breaking  in  my  door,  for  every  one  of  the 
crowd  knows  better  ; even  the  most  ignorant  coolie 
knows  well  that  to  intrude  into  a woman’s  room  or 
in  any  way  violate  the  privacy  which  is  hers  by  im- 
memorial usage  and  rigid  etiquette  is  an  outrage 
for  which  there  is  no  forgiveness,  judging  from  a 
Chinese  standpoint. 

The  mannerless,  brutal,  coarse,  insolent,  con- 
ceited, cowardly  roughs  of  the  Chinese  towns,  ig- 
norant beyond  all  description,  live  in  a state  of  filth 
which  is  indescribable  and  incredible,  in  an  incon- 
ceivable beastliness  of  dirt,  among  odours  which 
no  existing  words  can  describe,  and  actually  call 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze  365 


Japanese  “ barbarian  dwarfs”!  I wondered  daily 
more  at  the  goodness  of  people  who  are  mission- 
aries to  the  Chinese  in  the  interior  cities,  not  at 
their  coming  out  the  first  time,  but  at  their  coining 
back,  knowing  what  they  come  to.  The  village  peo- 
ple are  quite  different,  and  doubtless  have  attract- 
ive qualities ; and  it  must  be  admitted  that 
Christianity  does  produce  an  external  refinement 
among  those  who  receive  it,  which  is  very  notice- 
able. Having  relieved  my  hoarded  disgusts  by 
these  remarks,  I will  proceed  with  my  narrative. 

The  days,  though  cold  and  very  wet,  were  a 
great  rest.  There  was  not  even  the  guiding  a 
horse  and  preventing  him  from  fighting,  to  distract 
the  thoughts  from  dwelling  on  any  topic  I chose  to 
concentrate  them  upon.  My  possessions,  except 
my  camera  and  plates,  had  been  spoilt  long  ago,  so 
there  was  nothing  to  be  anxious  about ; and  a few 
rolls  more  or  less  in  the  red  mud  did  not  matter, 
for  my  clothes  were  thickly  plastered  days  before. 
I could  not  fare  worse  than  I had  done,  so  I was 
not  anxious  about  the  night’s  halt 1 ; so  during  the 
day  I revelled  in  freedom,  leisure,  and  solitude ; 

1 I must  repeat  that  there  are  very  good  inns  in  Sze  Chuan  in  the  cities, 
i.e.,  good  for  China,  and  at  the  regular  stages,  but,  besides  that  I was  avoid- 
ing cities  because  of  the  rough  element  which  they  contain,  I was  travelling 
less  than  the  usual  distance  daily,  and  had  to  put  up  with  the  Chinese 
equivalent  of  the  “hedge  alehouse  ” accommodation,  which  the  ordinary 
travelling  Chinese  would  have  disdained. 


366  The  Yangtze  Valley 

but  when  night  came,  and  I sat  shivering  in  some 
foetid  hole,  not  fit  for  a decent  beast,  with  only  a 
bamboo  railing  between  it  and  the  pig-sty,  I often 
thought  Chinese  travelling  an  utter  abomination  ! 

Even  the  most  monotonous  part  of  the  route 
had  many  interests  and  some  novelties.  It  is  a 
marvel  how  the  intense  homogeneity  of  China,  its 
apparent  inflexibility,  and  its  actual  grooviness,  are 
incessantly  disturbed  by  local  custom.  The  race, 
it  is  true,  is  always  the  same,  and  the  general  feat- 
ures of  the  costume  ; every  Chinese  not  a convict 
has  a shaven  head  and  a long  queue,  and  every 
woman  hobbles  on  deformed  feet ; but  when  it 
comes  to  environments  they  differ  from  day  to  day, 
and  sometimes  from  hour  to  hour.  Here  in  Sze 
Chuan  house  architecture  varies  almost  from  day 
to  day  ; each  river  has  its  own  form  of  boat ; in 
one  district  all  loads  are  slung  from  the  bamboo 
over  the  shoulder  ; in  another  they  are  carried  in 
wicker  creels  fitted  on  wooden  pack-saddles  on  hu- 
man backs.  In  one  prefecture  the  purse  is  a skin 
bag  attached  to  the  waist ; in  another  it  is  a stout 
wooden  cylinder  tapering  at  both  ends  carried 
across  the  back,  and  so  with  many  other  things. 
Food  varies  with  the  locality,  and  crops  with  the 
soil.  One  district  rejects  large  cash,  and  others 
small,  while  some  use  a mixture.  Headgear  varies 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze  3 67 


greatly.  Blue  turbans  are  much  worn.  The  shape 
of  the  straw  hat  indicates  the  district  from  which 
the  wearer  comes,  and  local  fashion  tyrannises  even 
over  baggage  coolies.  I wanted  to  give  to  each  of 
mine  one  of  the  noble  straw  hats  made  near  Kiao, 
but  they  “ could  not”  wear  them  in  Wan  Hsien  and 
its  neighbourhood,  any  more  than  a fashionable 
English  girl  “ could  ” wear  a last  season’s  hat. 

In  bridges  the  varieties  are  endless,  and  in  pai- 
fangs  and  temple  fronts.  This  ceaseless  diversity 
in  unity  is  very  attractive  in  Chinese  travelling,  but 
it  has  its  drawbacks,  for  on  many  occasions  when, 
owing  to  weather  or  hurry  or  some  other  tyranny, 
I did  not  photograph  some  striking  peculiarity,  I 
never  met  with  it  again.  It  also  exposes  the  verac- 
ity of  travellers  to  suspicion.  One  may  describe 
some  peculiarity  which  is  universal  in  one  region, 
such  as  the  graceful  circular  or  pointed  arches  of 
its  bridges  ; while  another,  whose  sole  idea  of  a 
Chinese  bridge  is  stone  uprights  carrying  flat 
stone  slabs,  such  as  the  huge,  lumbering  structure, 
“ which,  with  its  wearisome  but  needful  length, 
bestrides”  the  Min  at  Foo-chow,  accuses  him  of 
having  drawn  upon  his  imagination  for  his  facts. 

For  three  days  of  cold,  grim,  drizzly,  or  in- 
credibly damp  weather,  in  which  natural  terraces 
gave  way  to  artificial,  and  hills  to  rolls,  and  roads 


368  The  Yangtze  Valley 

occasionally  disappeared  altogether,  and  the  dull 
green  of  the  sugar-cane  at  times  overspread  the 
country,  and  the  scarcity  of  rice  lands  now  and  then 
involved  a corresponding  scarcity  of  people,  we  trav- 
elled so  awful  a road  that  it  mattered  little  when  it 
was  altogether  lost.  It  had  long  since  degenerated 
into  the  slimy  top  of  a rice  dyke  a few  inches  wide, 
with  a flagstone  tipping  up  now  and  then  to  show 
what  it  once  claimed  to  be.  The  bad  weather 
put  a stop  to  traffic.  The  only  chair  we  met  in 
three  days  came  to  grief  close  to  us.  The  bearers 
fell,  the  chair  was  smashed  into  matchwood,  and 
its  occupant,  a somewhat  pompous-looking  mer- 
chant, was  deposited  in  three  feet  of  slush  alive 
with  frogs,  a disaster  which  afforded  my  men 
cause  for  unbounded  hilarity  for  the  rest  of  the 
day. 

The  road  is  so  narrow  because  the  farmers 
grudge  every  inch  taken  from  their  fields.  As  one 
is  carried  along,  the  chair  hangs  over  the  flooded 
rice  land  on  either  side,  and  when  anyone  is  seen 
in  the  distance  he  is  warned  by  a series  of  simulta- 
neous yells  to  turn  off  on  an  intersecting  dyke. 
On  one  of  these  days  nearly  eleven  hours  of  hard 
travel  only  produced  a result  of  eighteen  miles ! 
My  men,  though  always  wet  to  the  skin,  and  often 
falling  as  well  as  slipping,  never  flagged  or  grumbled. 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze  36 9 

and  trudged  along,  joking  and  laughing,  splendid 
“ raw  material  ! ” 

The  people  were  not  hostile  in  this  country  re- 
gion, and  the  rain  repressed  the  curiosity  which  I 
found  specially  irksome  during  the  hour  I spent 
twice  daily  sitting  in  a village  street,  while  my  men 
breakfasted  and  dined.  I became  daily  more  con- 
vinced that  the  mandarins  have  it  in  their  power 
to  repress  any  overt  expression  of  anti-foreign  feel- 
ing. At  Kiao,  when  I left  the  inn  yard  where  the 
riot  occurred  the  evening  before,  though  it  was 
crowded,  the  people  were  perfectly  orderly,  and 
though  the  long,  narrow  street  was  lined  with  men 
standing  three  and  four  deep  on  each  side,  just  leav- 
ing room  for  the  chair  to  pass,  no  one  spoke  or  moved. 

That  same  day  the  chai-jen  were  changed  at  the 
neat  little  city  of  Ying-san  Hsien,  in  the  centre  of 
a region  where  the  chief  industries  are  making 
bamboo  baskets  and  straw  plait  for  hats,  and  I sat 
for  an  hour  near  the.  y amen  entrance,  considering 
the  extraordinary  amount  of  business  which  custom 
imposes  on  a Chinese  mandarin. 

We  have  a habit,  partly  warrantable — for  the 
official  class  in  China  is  the  worst  of  “ the  classes  ” 
— of  speaking  of  “ the  mandarins  ” as  we  might 
speak  of  “ the  wolves  ” or  “ the  vultures,”  a rough 
classification  which,  like  similar  methods,  is  by  no 


370 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

means  trustworthy.  Mandarins  are  good  and  bad. 
The  system  under  which  they  hold  office  has  a 
strong  tendency  to  make  them  bad.  Nevertheless, 
there  are  some  good,  just,  honest  men  among  them, 
who  do  the  best  they  can  for  their  districts  during 
their  terms  of  office,  earn  the  esteem  and  gratitude 
of  the  people,  and  leave  office  as  poor  as  they  en- 
tered it.  With  regard  to  the  bad,  their  opportun- 
ities for  squeezing  and  oppressing  are  not  so 
enormous  as  is  often  supposed,  being  limited  by 
what  I am  inclined  to  call  the  right  of  rebellion. 
When  an  appeal  to  law  comes  to  involve  wholesale 
bribery,  and  taxation  becomes  grinding,  then  a 
local  rebellion  on  a small  or  large  scale  occurs, 
the  offending  mandarin  is  driven  out,  the  Throne 
quietly  appoints  a successor,  and  peace  prevails 
once  more. 

A system  in  which  official  salaries  are  not  a “ liv- 
ing wage  ” opens  the  door  to  large  peculation,  but 
withal  China  is  not  a heavily  taxed  country,  and  the 
people  are  anything  but  helpless  in  official  hands. 
In  spite  of  all  the  monstrous  corruption  which  exists, 
general  security  and  good  order  prevail,  and  China 
has  been  increasing  in  wealth  and  population  for 
nearly  two  centuries. 

What  we  call  mandarins  ( kuans ) are  all  the  magis- 
trates subordinate  through  the  intendants  of  circuits 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze 


37i 


( Taotai ) to  the  Tsung-tuh  of  a province  or  provinces, 
the  Governor-General,  whom  we  call  a Viceroy. 
They  are  prefects  or  head  magistrates  of  depart- 
ments and  magistrates  for  the  subdivisions  of  de- 
partments. Under  these,  but  not  known  as  kuans , 
are  mandarins’  secretaries,  often  very  powerful  per- 
sons, clerks,  registrars,  and  an  army  of  subordinates, 
for  whom  their  superiors  are  responsible.  The 
Chinese  call  the  last  “ rats  under  the  altar,”  and 
fear  them  greatly.  Indeed  it  is  said  that  the  dread 
of  getting  into  their  clutches  has  a more  deterrent 
effect  on  evil-doers  than  any  prospect  of  punish- 
ment. Every  mandarin,  down  to  the  smallest  mag- 
istrate, has  office  secretaries  for  investigating  cases, 
recording  evidence,  keeping  accounts,  filing  papers, 
writing  and  transmitting  despatches,  and  other 
formal  functions. 

Theoretically  the  relation  between  magistrate 
and  people  is  strictly  paternal.  Some  degree  of 
what  we  call  corruption  is  inseparable  from  Oriental 
officialism,  and  when  kept  within  moderate  bounds 
does  not  disturb  the  filial  feeling.  The  whole  of  a 
mandarin’s  time  is  nominally  at  the  service  of  the 
people  of  his  district.  Of  some,  perhaps  of  a goodly 
number  throughout  China,  this  devotion  to  local 
interests  may  be  literally  true.  Access  to  his  tri- 
bunal may  ensure  a fair  trial,  and  probably  in  a 


37  2 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

majority  of  cases  little  injustice  is  done  when  a case 
once  comes  before  him. 

A gong  was  hung  up  at  the  yamen  gate,  where  I 
have  so  long  kept  my  readers  shivering  in  the  damp 
east  wind.  I am  told  that  such  a one  hangs  up  at 
every  similar  gate,  and  that  on  hearing  it  the  magis- 
trate  is  bound  to  come  out  and  attend  to  the  com- 
plaint. But  in  practice  a man  has  to  bribe  his  way 
from  the  gate  to  the  judgment-seat,  and  from  the 
gatekeeper  to  the  private  secretary,  and  would  be 
likely  to  be  beaten  if  he  touched  the  gong.  Though 
the  mandarin  may  be  willing  to  decide  justly,  the 
underlings,  through  whom  alone  approach  to  the 
judicial  chair  is  possible  do  not  share  his  scruples. 
A man  who  can  afford  to  grease  copiously  the 
palms  of  runners,  clerks,  and  secretaries,  men  un- 
paid or  underpaid,  is  sure  to  see  his  petition  on  the 
top  of  the  pile  on  the  magistrate’s  table,  while  the 
poorer  litigant  finds  his  delayed  sine  die. 

It  is  chiefly  on  the  underpaid  and  hard-worked 
magistracy  of  China  that  the  existence  of  govern- 
ment depends.  No  men  in  mercantile  positions 
work  so  hard  as  these  officials,  and  if  they  are  con- 
scientious, all  the  worse  for  them.  Their  duties  are 
multifarious,  and  are  both  defined  and  undefined, 
executive,  fiscal,  judicial,  and  at  times  even  military. 
They  are  responsible,  not  only  for  the  taxes  of  their 


373 


A GROUP  OF  KUANS  (MANDARINS) 


374 


The  Yangtze  Valley 


districts,  but  for  their  order  and  quietness,  depend- 
ing for  much  on  subordinates  whom  they  cannot 
trust,  and  during  war,  rebellion,  and  the  floods  and 
famines,  which  occur  with  painful  frequency,  are 
compelled  to  an  almost  sleepless  vigilance,  lest  any- 
thing should  go  wrong,  and  they  should  be  reported 
to  the  Throne.  It  is  said  truly  that  on  the  Hsien 
or  Fu  magistrate  the  work  of  at  least  six  men  de- 
volves. He  is  at  once  tax  commissioner,  civil  and 
criminal  judge,  coroner,  treasurer,  sheriff,  and  much 
besides,  and'  he  is  supposed  to  have  an  exhaustive 
knowledge  of  everything  within  his  bounds.  And 
withal  he  must  so  dexterously  regulate  his  squeezes 
as  that  it  shall  be  possible  for  him  to  exist,  for  on 
his  salary,  attenuated  as  it  is  by  forfeitures,  he 
cannot. 

Into  the  midst  of  this  amount  of  responsibility, 
multifarious  duties,  and  overwork,  comes  the  for- 
eigner with  his  treaty  rights,  a new  and  difficult 
element  to  deal  with,  and  who  may  be  an  arrogant, 
bullying,  and  ignorant  person.  I am  not  apologis- 
ing for  the  crimes  of  mandarins.  I have  suffered 
much  from  the  violence  of  Chinese  mobs,  permit- 
ted, as  I believe,  if  not  instigated,  by  officialism. 
But  I have  on  several  occasions  declined  to  make 
a formal  complaint  and  hamper  a magistrate  be- 
cause of  my  sympathy  with  his  difficulties.  On 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze 


375 


the  one  side  there  are  orders  from  Peking  sent 
down  through  the  Viceroy  that  foreigners  travel- 
ling are  to  be  protected,  and  that  their  rights  un- 
der the  treaties  are  to  be  secured  to  them  ; on  the 
other  there  is  the  anti-foreign  feeling  which  has 
been  inflamed  for  years  past  by  agitators,  certain 
of  the  secret  societies,  and  what  are  known  as  the 
“ Hunan  Tracts,”  and  which  may  be  provoked  into 
an  explosion  by  any  unintentional  indiscretion  of  a 
foreigner,  or,  as  in  my  case,  by  such  an  outrage  on 
custom  as  travelling  in  an  open  chair ! The  riot 
occurs ; the  foreigner  suffers  in  his  person  or 
goods  ; he  lodges  a complaint,  is  backed  up  by  his 
consul ; and  the  mandarin,  who  may  have  been 
miles  away  from  the  scene  of  the  occurrence,  is 
held  responsible,  and  is  possibly  degraded.  The 
large  number  of  European  and  American  mission- 
aries who  have  become  residents  in  Sze  Chuan 
during  the  last  twelve  years  have  also  increased 
the  evil  considerably.  So  far  as  I saw  and  learned, 
these  men  and  women,  with  a very  few  exceptions, 
are  slaves  to  the  scrupulosity  of  their  observance 
of  Chinese  custom  and  etiquette  so  far  as  they 
know  them,  and  to  their  anxiety  to  avoid  giving 
offence  in  the  country  in  which  they  live. 

But,  to  begin  with,  they  are  foreigners,  “ foreign 
devils  ” ; their  eyes,  their  complexions,  their  ways 


376 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

of  sitting  and  carrying  their  hands  are  repulsive, 
and  the  belief,  sometimes  piteous,  that  they  are 
“ child-eaters,”  and  use  the  eyes  and  hearts  of  child- 
ren in  medicine,  is  now  spread  universally.  Then 
they  have  come,  if  not,  as  many  believe,  as  spies 
and  political  agents,  to  teach  a foreign  and  West- 
ern religion,  which  is  to  subvert  Chinese  national- 
ity, to  wreck  the  venerated  social  order  introduced 
by  Confucius,  to  destroy  the  reverence  and  purity 
of  domestic  life  and  the  loyalty  to  ancestors,  and 
to  introduce  abominable  customs. 

This  is,  I think,  a faithful  view  of  missionary 
aims  from  a Chinese  standpoint,  and,  bearing  in 
mind  the  extreme  ignorance  and  intense  conserv- 
atism of  the  Chinese,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  there 
should  be  continual  small  disturbances,  or  that 
these  should  have  culminated  in  the  great  anti- 
missionary riots  in  Sze  Chuan  in  1895,  in  which  a 
large  number  of  the  missionaries  had  to  fly,  and 
many  more  owed  their  lives  to  the  protection  given 
them  by  the  mandarins  in  their  yamens. 

/would  not  hold  the  mandarins  responsible  for 
the  whole  of  these  outbreaks,  though  they  are  and 
must  be  held  so,  but  the  difficulties  of  their  position 
are  much  complicated  by  the  presence  within  their 
jurisdictions  of  aliens  whose  aims  are  obnoxious 
to  the  majority  of  the  people,  and  who  are  slowly 


lady’s  SEDAN  CHAIR  (CHINESE  PROPRIETY ) 


378 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

creating,  under  the  protection  of  treaties,  societies 
with  views  at  variance  with  established  custom. 

Yet  so  great  is  the  potency  of  a word  from  head- 
quarters that  I believe  the  Sze  Chuan  mandarins 
are  now  doing  their  best  to  protect  the  mission- 
aries, and  wherever  I went,  and  very  specially  at 
Paoning  Fu,  I heard  of  efficient  protection  given, 
even  where  the  means  at  the  magistrates’  disposal 
were  very  limited,  and  of  consideration  and  friend- 
liness shown,  far  in  excess  of  any  claims  which 
could  be  made,  and  which  went  to  the  extreme 
verge  of  a prudent  regard  for  official  position. 

Some  of  my  readers  and  friends  will  consider 
that  in  the  above  remarks  I have  played  in  an- 
other than  the  Vatican  sense  the  part  of  “devil’s 
advocate.”  So  be  it.  I intended,  as  a matter  of 
honesty  and  fair  play,  to  “ give  the  devil  his  due.” 
I am  fully  aware  of  the  manifold  iniquities  of  the 
mandarins,  and  regard  the  official  system  as  the 
greatest  curse  of  China,  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  it  makes  it  nearly  impossible  for  an  official  to 
walk  on  a straight  path.  But  I wished  to  note 
briefly  a few  extenuating  circumstances,  and  to  pro- 
test against  that  rough-and-ready  and  very  mis- 
leading system  of  classification  which  lumps  all 
mandarins  together  as  an  irredeemably  bad  lot. 
The  system  is  infamous,  but  a traveller  who  has 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze 


379 


spent  some  years  in  travelling  in  Turkey,  Persia, 
Kashmir,  and  Korea,  is  astonished  to  find  that  the 
Chinese  are  very  far  from  being  an  oppressed  peo- 
ple, and  that  even  under  this  system  they  enjoy 
light  taxation  in  spite  of  squeezes,  security  for  the 
gains  of  labour,  and  a considerable  amount  of  ra- 
tional liberty.  It  is  when  a Chinese,  either  through 
his  own  fault  or  that  of  another,  becomes  a litigant 
his  misfortunes  begin. 

In  the  hour  I spent  at  the  entrance  of  th zyamen 
of  Ying-san  Hsien,  407  people  came  and  went — 
men  of  all  sorts,  many  in  chairs,  but  most  on  foot, 
and  nearly  all  well  dressed.  All  carried  papers, 
and  some  big  dossiers.  Within,  secretaries,  clerks, 
and  writers  crossed  and  recrossed  the  courtyard 
rapidly  and  ceaselessly,  and  chai-jen,  or  messen- 
gers, bearing  papers,  were  continually  despatched. 
Much  business,  and  that  of  all  kinds,  was  undoubt- 
edly transacted.  There  was  nothing  of  the  lazy 
loafing  of  a horde  of  dirty  officials  which  distin- 
guishes a Korean  yamen.  I was  quite  unmolested. 
Successive  coolie  crowds  stood  for  a time  regard- 
ing me  with  an  apathetic  stare,  said  nothing,  and 
moved  silently  away.  At  last  a very  splendid  person 
in  brocaded  silks  and  satins  came  out  and  handed 
me  my  passport,  and  we  were  able  to  proceed. 

One  among  my  reasons  for  not  making  the 


380 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

regular  stages  was  that  in  town  inns  a woman  travel- 
ler must  shut  herself  up  rigidly  in  her  room  from  ar- 
rival until  departure  unless  she  desires  to  provoke 
a row,  while  in  the  small  villages  and  hamlets, 
where  I was  frequently  the  only  guest,  when  the 
coolies  had  had  their  supper,  I was  able  to  spend 
an  hour  in  the  “house  place”  with  the  family,  and 
at  very  small  expense  become  friendly  with  them, 
and  the  village  headman  and  one  or  two  more 
often  dropped  in,  and,  under  the  influence  of  tea 
and  tobacco  and  the  sight  of  some  of  the  nearest 
local  photographs,  became  quite  conversational. 
Be-dien,  whose  knowledge  of  English  was  very  fair, 
improved  daily,  and  was,  I think,  painstaking  ; at 
all  events,  I made  him  so  ! 

On  such  evenings  I heard  a good  deal  about 
mandarins,  taxes,  industries,  prices,  carriage  of 
goods,  foreigners,  missionaries,  and  other  things, 
all  purely  local.  Occasionally  the  consensus  of 
opinion  about  a mandarin  was  that  he  was  a very 
bad  man,  took  bribes,  exacted  more  than  the  “ le- 
gitimate squeeze  ” in  tax-collecting,  decided  cases 
always  in  favour  of  the  rich,  etc.  Such  must  have 
been  very  bad  cases  on  which  all  had  reason  to  be 
agreed,  or  the  men,  owing  to  the  strong  disgust 
and  suspicion  of  each  other  which  prevail,  would 
not  have  dared  to  speak  out  before  each  other. 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze  381 

This  is  an  element  which  must  always  be  taken 
into  consideration  in  judging  of  the  probabilities 
of  the  accuracy  of  any  statement  which  is  made. 
On  the  whole,  however,  there  were  not  many  com- 
plaints uttered,  and  these  were  usually  of  the  delays 
of  the  law.  Some  mandarins  were  spoken  of  with 
something  akin  to  enthusiasm.  One  had  built  a 
bridge,  another  had  made  a good  road,  a third  had 
restored  a temple,  a fourth  was  “ very  charitable  to 
the  poor,”  and  in  the  last  scarcity  had  diminished 
the  luxury  of  his  own  table  by  a half  that  he  might 
feed  the  poor,  and  so  on. 

Anything  like  an  enlightened  idea  on  a subject 
not  local  was  not  to  be  hoped  for.  Few  of  these 
headmen  had  heard  of  the  war,  or  of  the  peace  of 
Shimonoseki,  and  those  who  had,  believed  that  the 
“ barbarian  rebels  ” had  been  driven  into  the  sea  or 
into  fiery  holes  in  the  ground.  The  immense  in- 
demnity paid  to  the  Roman  Catholics  for  their 
losses  in  “ the  riots  ” touched  them  more  closely, 
and  I heard  a good  deal  said  regarding  the  Roman 
missions  which  I will  not  repeat,  and  I will  also 
“ keep  dark  ” the  various  criticisms,  some  of  them 
most  trenchant  and  amusing,  which  were  made  on 
our  own  missionaries,  only  wishing  that 

“ The  giftie  were  gi’ed  us 
To  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us.” 


382  The  Yangtze  Valley 

The  attempt  to  hammer  out  facts  on  these  even- 
ings was  fatiguing  and  often  disheartening,  as,  for 
instance,  to  decide  which  of  six  varying  statements 
on  one  matter  had  the  greatest  aspect  of  probabil- 
ity, and  was  worth  stowing  away  in  my  memory, 
but  the  interest  of  mixing  in  any  fashion  with  the 
people  far  outweighed  the  discomfort  of  peasant 
accommodation,  even  when  it  was  pretty  bad.  One 
night  Be-dien,  after  surveying  the  inside  of  a very 
poor  hovel,  came  out  looking  rueful,  and  said,  “You 
won’t  like  your  room  to-night,  Mrs.  Bishop ; it 's 
the  pigs  room ! ” and  truly  seven  pigs  occupied  a 
depression  railed  off  in  one  corner  of  it. 

The  second  day  after  leaving  Kiao  we  had  heavy 
rain  all  day,  and  the  road,  which  was  a barely  legi- 
ble track,  mostly  on  slippery  mud  hills,  was  so  in- 
famous that,  as  the  bearers  were  constantly  slipping 
and  even  falling,  I had  to  do  a great  deal  of  being 
hauled  and  lifted  along  ; walking  it  was  not,  for  my 
feet  slipped  from  under  me  at  nearly  every  step. 
We  passed  through  one  vacant,  forlorn  city  of 
refuge,  and  spent  most  of  the  day  in  a desolate, 
treeless,  sparsely  inhabited,  red  region,  slithering 
along  the  side  of  a high,  bleak,  mountain  ridge,  the 
summit  of  which  (an  altitude  of  2140  feet)  we 
gained  at  dark  to  find  a small  and  most  miserable 
hamlet  astride  on  the  top  of  it.  The  houses  were 


Siao-Kiao  to  Hsieh-Tien-Tze 


all  shut,  and  the  pouring  rain  kept  everyone  indoors. 
No  wonder  ! The  slush  was  over  my  ankles,  and 
very  cold. 

A broad  gleam  fell  across  the  road,  and  we  made 
our  way  to  it,  as  wet  as  it  was  possible  to  be,  and 
took,  rather  than  asked,  shelter  in  a big  shed  with 
a loft  or  platform  at  one  side,  fitfully  lighted  as  well 
as  filled  with  smoke  by  some  branches  which  were 
being  burned  in  a great  clay  furnace,  apparently 
used  for  the  making  of  iron  pots.  Several  men 
were  shovelling  coal  into  the  same,  and  there  was  a 
prospect  of  warmth.  This  shed  was  the  front  of 
the  mouth  and  workings  of  a coal-pit.  I was  guided 
into  some  workings  which  appeared  disused,  where 
there  were  some  pigs,  a sunk  water-trough  in  the 
sloppy  clay  floor,  and  an  excavation  two  feet  six 
inches  wide  by  six  feet  long,  into  which  my  stretcher, 
six  feet  six  inches  long,  was  backed,  and  projected 
six  inches  outside  ! After  a hot  supper,  I rolled 
myself,  in  my  wet  clothes,  in  a dry  rug,  and  slept 
soundly  till  the  torrent  of  rain  slacked  off  at  eight 
the  following  morning,  when  we  got  on  the  road 
again. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


HSIEH-TIEN-TZE  TO  PAONING  FU 


HE  weather  continued  grim,  cold,  and  damp, 


1 with  a penetrating  east  wind.  I felt  the  cold 
more  than  on  any  previous  journey,  even  when  for 
weeks  at  a time  the  mercury  had  registered  20°  be- 
low zero,  and  on  this  occasion  it  never  fell  below 
40°  above,  and  on  some  of  the  “ coldest  ” days  was 
as  high  as  450.  Men  who  had  them  were  wearing 
their  handsome  furs  up  to  March  12th. 

After  leaving  the  coal-pit  and  the  bleak  hillside, 
we  descended  to  a region  where  the  natural  terrace 
formation  of  the  hills  was  extensively  aided  by  art, 
and  the  country  looked  as  if  it  were  covered  with 
Roman  camps. 

At  the  risk  of  wearying  my  readers,  I must  again 
remark  on  the  singularity  of  the  formation  of  this 
large  portion  of  the  Red  Basin,  which  is  continued 
in  its  most  exaggerated  form  at  least  as  far  south 
as  Shien  Ching,  on  the  Kialing,  fully  270 //south  of 
Paoning.  Looking  down  from  any  height,  it  is 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  385 

seen  that  the  red  sandstone  has  been  decomposed 
into  hundreds  of  small  hills,  from  200  to  300  feet 
high,  with  their  sides  worn  into  natural  and  very 
regular  terraces,  of  which  I have  counted  twenty- 
three  one  above  another,  while  the  actual  hilltop  is 
weathered  into  a most  deceptive  resemblance  to  a 
fort  or  ruined  castle. 

Much  of  Sze  Chuan  is  remarkable  for  the  scarcity 
of  villages,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  dotted  over 
both  with  large  farmhouses,  where  the  farmer  and 
his  dependants  live  in  patriarchal  style,  surrounded 
by  a roofed  wall  with  a heavy  gateway,  and  with 
large  cottages,  the  walls  of  which,  with  their  heavy 
black  timbers  and  whitewashed  walls,  have  a most 
distinct  resemblance  to  the  old  Cheshire  architect- 
ure, while  the  roofs,  with  a nearly  even  slope  from 
the  ridge-pole  to  the  extremity  of  the  deep  eaves 
which  form  broad  verandahs,  have  more  kinship 
with  that  of  the  Swiss  chalet  than  with  the  typical 
Chinese  roof,  curving  upwards  at  the  corners. 

If  the  tradition  be  true  which  declares  that  in  the 
early  days  of  this  dynasty  people  were  sent  in 
chains  to  colonise  this  far  province,  it  may  be,  as 
Mr.  Baber  suggests,  that  they  had  not  the  family 
and  clan  ties  which  lead  men  to  herd  together  in 
the  communities  which  are  also  a necessary  element 
of  safety  in  many  circumstances.  It  was  not  till 


386 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

the  Taiping  outbreak  that  these  scattered  settlers, 
who  had  lived  and  multiplied  for  nearly  two  cen- 
turies under  conditions  of  security,  found  it  neces- 
sary to  combine  for  mutual  protection.  It  then 
occurred  to  them  that  the  numerous  precipitous, 
rocky  hills  of  the  region,  if  walled  round  near  the 
top,  would  be  impregnable  refuges,  and  they  sub- 
scribed money  and  labour,  and  carried  out  their 
idea,  sprinkling  the  country  with  picturesque  chai- 
tzu,  or  redoubts,  to  which  they  ascended  in  times 
of  dread.  It  did  not  occur  to  them  to  build  per- 
manent dwellings  and  remain  at  these  altitudes. 

In  the  purely  agricultural  parts  of  the  province, 
where  there  are  no  local  industries  requiring  con- 
centration of  population,  such  villages  as  are  to  be 
met  with  elsewhere,  in  which  tenants,  labourers,  inn- 
keepers, and  proprietors,  with  shopkeepers  and 
artisans,  live  in  communities,  are  rarely  met  with. 
Out  of  the  system  of  scattered  dwellings  and 
minute  hamlets,  trading  arrangements  for  supply- 
ing the  wants  of  the  agricultural  population  have 
grown  up,  the  like  of  which  I have  not  seen  else- 
where. These  are  the  markets  ( ch'ang ). 

In  travelling  along  the  roads  one  comes  quite  un- 
expectedly upon  a long,  narrow  street  with  closed 
shop  fronts,  boarded-up  restaurants,  and  deserted 
houses,  and  possibly  a forlorn  family  with  its  dog 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  387 

and  pig  the  only  inhabitants.  The  first  thought  is 
that  the  population  has  been  exterminated  by  a 
pestilence,  but  on  inquiry  the  brief  and  simple 
explanation  is  given,  “ It ’s  not  market  day.” 

A few  miles  further,  and  the  roads  are  thronged 
with  country  people  in  their  best,  carrying  agri- 
cultural productions  and  full  and  empty  baskets. 
The  whole  country  is  on  the  move  to  another  long, 
narrow  street  closely  resembling  the  first,  but  that 
the  shop  fronts  are  open,  and  full  of  Chinese  and 
foreign  goods  ; the  tea-shops  are  crammed  ; every 
house  is  full  of  goods  and  people ; from  2000  to 
5000  or  6000  are  assembled  ; blacksmiths,  joiners, 
barbers,  tinkers,  traders  of  all  kinds,  are  busy ; the 
shouting  and  the  din  of  bargaining  are  tremendous, 
and  between  the  goods  and  the  buyers  and  sellers 
locomotion  is  slow  and  critical.  Drug  stores,  in 
which  “remedies  for  foreign  smoke”  are  sold, 
occur  everywhere. 

The  shops  in  these  streets  are  frequently  owned 
by  the  neighbouring  farmers,  who  let  them  to 
traders  for  the  market  days,  which  are  fixed  for  the 
convenience  of  the  district,  and  fall  on  the  third  or 
fifth  or  even  seventh  day,  as  the  need  may  be. 
The  gateway  at  each  end  of  the  street  is  often  very 
highly  decorated.  Theatrical  entertainments  fre- 
quent these  markets,  and  if  the  actors  are  well  known 


388  The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  popular,  4000  or  5000  people  assemble  for  the 
play  alone.  The  markets  are  the  great  gatherings 
for  all  purposes.  If  anything  of  public  opinion  of  a 
local  character  exists,  it  is  manufactured  there. 
There  official  notifications  are  made,  and  bargains 
regarding  the  sale  or  rent  of  land  are  concluded. 
Family  festivals  even  are  often  held  there,  and 
after  marriage  negotiations  on  the  part  of  heads  of 
families  have  been  concluded  the  preliminaries  are 
drawn  up  and  ratified  at  the  market.  There  the 
cottons  of  Lancashire  undergo  a searching  criticism, 
and  are  weighed,  handled,  held  up  to  the  light,  by 
men  who  cannot  be  deceived  as  to  the  value  of 
cotton,  and  are  often  found  wanting.  Into  the 
vortex  of  the  market  is  attracted  all  the  news  and 
gossip  of  the  district.  It  is  much  like  a fair,  but  I 
never  saw  any  rowdyism  or  drunkenness  on  the 
road  afterwards,  and  I never  met  with  any  really 
rough  treatment  in  a market,  though  the  crowding 
and  curiosity  made  me  always  glad  when  it  was  not 
“ market  day.” 

On  the  afternoon  of  March  7th  there  was  some 
hazy  sunshine,  and  the  effect  was  magical.  The 
route  lay  partly  along  the  Shanrang  Ho,  an  affluent 
of  the  Ku-kiang,  itself  navigable  up  to,  and  for 
sixty  li  above  Sing-king-pa  Hsien,  so  report  said. 
Considerable  fleets  of  colliers  lay  at  different  points. 


SZE  CHUAN  FARMHOUSE 


390 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

vessels  carrying  from  ten  to  twenty-five  tons,  flat- 
bottomed.  They  were  loading,  in  one  case,  from 
a coal-yard  of  half  an  acre  at  least  in  extent,  fenced 
strongly  and  carefully  with  bamboo,  in  which  the 
coal  was  piled  in  big,  oblong  blocks  weighing  two 
hundredweight  each,  to  a height  of  seven  feet,  each 
block  being  carried  from  the  pit  by  two  men.  The 
colliers  are  built  in  compartments,  and  very  strongly, 
as  there  are  severe  rapids  both  above  and  below 
Sing-king-pa  Hsien. 

After  ferrying  this  river,  along  with  a number 
of  Buddhist  priests,  we  gradually  attained  high 
ground,  and  secured  the  granary  of  a new  inn  for 
my  room.  Being  new,  the  place  was  clean  and 
dry,  and  promised  well  for  the  next  day’s  halt, 
and  most  of  the  unpacking  was  done,  when  the 
trim  young  hostess  requested  us  to  “move  on.” 
She  said  her  father-in-law  was  away,  and  he  would 
be  angry  with  her  for  receiving  a foreigner.  I did 
not  care  to  assert  “ treaty  rights  ” against  the 
obvious  anxiety  of  so  prepossessing  a young 
woman,  and  we  repacked  and  slithered  along  six 
more  li  of  bad  roads  till  we  came  to  a lone  farm- 
ing cottage  on  the  top  of  a windy  ridge,  with  a 
most  extensive  view,  where  I was  very  glad  to  re- 
main for  the  next  day,  as  I had  had  rather  a severe 
week.  From  Sing-king-pa  Hsien  my  chai-jen  were 


A SZE  CHUAN  MARKET-PLACE 


391 


392  The  Yangtze  Valley 

two  young  soldiers  in  the  most  brilliant  of  stagey 
uniforms,  and  I think  that  they  must  have  been 
the  reason  of  my  exclusion  from  the  previous  inn. 
Among  the  many  curious  proofs  of  superstitious 
beliefs  one  occurred  many  times  on  the  last  days 
of  the  journey  : a small  arch  made  of  bamboo 
stuck  into  the  slush  of  a rice-field.  This  is  done 
in  cases  of  the  illness  of  the  owner,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  offering  will  restore  him. 

On  this  windy  ridge  of  King-kiang-sze  I slept 
in  the  granary,  which  I should  have  considered 
extreme  luxury,  as  it  was  not  dark  when  the  door 
was  shut,  had  it  not  been  that  it  was  only  just 
built,  and  the  mud  on  the  walls  was  quite  wet. 
The  granary  was  detached  from  the  house,  open, 
as  fortunately  many  Chinese  rooms  are,  for  two 
feet  below  the  roof,  and  in  several  other  directions, 
being  in  fact  so  draughty  that  no  candle  would 
keep  alight  in  it. 

I stayed  in  bed  all  the  next  morning,  owing  to 
severe  chills,  the  consequence  of  living  in  wet 
clothes,  but  had  to  get  up  in  the  afternoon  to 
gratify  the  curiosity  of  fully  thirty  women,  who 
had  hobbled  in  from  the  adjacent  hamlets,  some 
of  them  twenty  li  away,  to  see  “ the  foreign 
woman.”  I feared  that  they  would  be  greatly 
disappointed  to  see  me  in  Chinese  dress,  but  I 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  393 

found  that  they  did  not  know  that  foreigners  wore 
any  other  ! My  hair,  “ big  feet,”  shoes,  and  gloves 
were  all  a great  amusement  to  them,  and,  above 
all,  my  light  camp-bed,  which  they  were  sure  would 
not  bear  any  weight,  so  they  sat  down  on  it  back 
to  back  to  the  number  of  twelve  ! 

Of  course,  they  asked  many  questions,  among 
others,  did  we  in  our  country  make  away  with  baby 
girls  ? I could  not  anywhere  learn  that  infanticide 
prevails  in  any  part  of  Sze  Chuan  in  which  I 
travelled,  and  when  I told  these  women  of  the 
extent  to  which  it  is  practised  in  some  parts  of 
Kwantung,  the  remark  was,  “ Could  n’t  they  sell 
them  for  a good  price  ? ” Undoubtedly  many  Sze 
Chuan  girls  are  sold  to  traders  from  Kansuh. 
These  mothers  mostly  have  large  families.  The 
children  are  not  weaned  till  they  are  three,  and 
often  not  till  they  are  four  and  even  five,  years  old. 
Of  “bringing  up  by  hand”  they  know  nothing — 
condensed  milk  has  not  reached  that  primitive 
region.  If  a mother  dies  at  the  birth  of  her  babe, 
the  mothers  of  the  hamlet  take  the  joint  responsi- 
bility of  supplying  the  orphan  with  maternal  nourish- 
ment. They  asked  me  if  I had  many  sons,  and 
when  I confessed  that  I had  none  they  expressed 
great  sympathy,  because  there  would  be  no  one 
at  my  death  to  perform  the  ancestral  rites.  It  is 


394 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

quite  customary,  on  hearing  of  the  absence  of  sons, 
for  women  to  pump  up  tears  as  a conventional 
requirement,  and  this  propriety  was  not  neglected 
on  this  occasion.  It  occurred  to  them  that  I could 
not  have  a daughter-in-law,  which  in  their  thinking 
was  a great  deprivation,  not  on  sentimental,  but 
on  purely  practical,  grounds,  the  daughter-in-law 
being  equivalent  to  the  mother-in-law’s  slave. 

Few  of  them  had  been  to  Paoning  Fu,  only  two 
days’  journey  off,  and  none  to  Wan  Hsien.  The 
markets  of  the  neighbourhood  were  the  boundaries 
of  their  horizon,  and  the  festivals  of  the  divinities 
of  their  hamlets  their  gaieties.  I like  the  Chinese 
women  better  than  any  Oriental  women  that  I know. 
They  have  plenty  of  good  stuff  in  them,  and  back- 
bone. When  they  are  Christianised  they  are 
thorough  Christians.  They  have  much  kindness  of 
heart ; they  are  very  modest ; they  are  faithful  wives, 
and  after  their  fashion  good  mothers.  I gave  my 
visitors  tea  and  sweetmeats  all  round,  and  they 
departed,  having  taught  me  far  more  than  they 
learned  from  me.  During  the  afternoon  men  with 
large  shields  slung  across  their  backs,  and  carrying 
red  staves,  appeared,  and  there  was  at  once  a con- 
siderable fuss  and  a demand  for  my  passport,  the 
big  seals  of  which  made  a salutary  impression  upon 
them.  These  officials  were  “ census  men,”  and 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  395 

were  engaged  in  numbering  the  houses.  The  tak- 
ing of  a census  has  not  been  a popular  matter  from 
time  immemorial,  and  in  the  East  an  idea  of 
increased  taxation  is  always  associated  with  it. 

Like  many  Chinese  systems,  the  census  system 
is  admirable  in  theory,  but  frauds,  lapses,  and  neg- 
lect render  it  inefficient.  Every  city  and  village 
is  divided  into  “ tithings,”  or  groups,  of  ten  fami- 
lies each,  and  on  every  doorpost  hangs,  or  ought 
to  hang,  a tablet,  mun-pai,  inscribed  with  the  names 
of  all  the  inmates  of  both  sexes.  If  the  head  of 
the  family  omits  to  make  an  entry,  or  fails  to  re- 
gister correctly  the  males  of  his  household  who  are 
liable  to  public  service,  he  may  receive  from  eighty 
to  a hundred  blows.  If  the  system  were  carried 
out,  suspicious  strangers  could  be  easily  caught, 
and  local  responsibility  for  any  crime  fixed  without 
any  trouble  ; but  a householder  finds  it  convenient 
to  escape  filling  up  the  schedule  by  bribing  the 
“ shield  men  ” with  cash  equivalent  to  twopence- 
halfpenny. 

The  next  day,  for  a considerable  distance,  every 
house  had  blossomed  into  a brand-new  mun-pai , 
which  indicated  the  arrival  of  a new  magistrate  de- 
termined to  enforce  the  law.  The  talk  of  the  inn 
was  that  it  heralded  additional  taxation. 

The  next  day’s  journey  to  Heh-shui-tang  was 


396  The  Yangtze  Valley- 

through  varied  and  pretty  country,  much  more 
populous,  and  with  abounding  water  communica- 
tion supplied  by  the  Chia-ling,  often  in  that  region 
called  the  Paoning  River,  and  its  branches.  The 
main  traffic  down  the  river  is  coal  and  salt.  There 
are  very  many  salt  wells  at  a good  height  on  the 
river  bank.  The  brine  is  drawn  by  being  pumped 
once  a day,  and  that  only  when  the  river  is  low, 
and  is  evaporated  by  coal  fires,  the  heavy  yellow 
smoke  giving  the  aspect  of  manufacturing  indus- 
try. Salt  is  a Government  monopoly.  The  Gov- 
ernment buys  all  the  salt  which  is  produced,  at  a 
rate  fixed  by  itself,  and  sends  it  all  over  the  coun- 
try for  sale,  making  an  enormous  profit.  It  is  said 
that  the  salt  produced  in  Sze  Chuan  brings  in  to 
the  Government  a revenue  of  ,£2,000,000  sterling  ! 
In  some  places  the  borings  for  salt  extend  to  the 
depths  of  nearly  three  thousand  feet,  as  the  result 
of  the  continuous  operations  of  ten  or  twelve  years, 
two  feet  a day  being  very  satisfactory  progress. 
“ Fire  wells”  are  often  found  near  salt  wells,  and 
the  “ fire  ” is  used  for  evaporating  the  salt.  The 
product  of  the  wells  seen  on  that  day’s  journey  is 
small,  but  fifty  boats  of  about  twelve  tons  were 
loading  with  it. 

At  the  pleasant  and  thriving  little  town  of  Nan- 
pu,  which  produces  a very  white  salt,  the  mandarin 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  39 7 

was  polite,  and  sent  four  gaily  uniformed  soldiers 
with  me,  who,  however,  shortly  turned  themselves 
into  rather  shabby  civilians,  showing,  as  on  several 
other  occasions,  that  the  love  of  mufti  is  not  con- 
fined to  English  officers.  The  mandarin’s  secre- 
tary asked  me  if  I would  like  to  see  anything  in 
Nan-pu.  I could  think  of  nothing  in  the  little, 
quiet,  trading  town,  but,  for  the  sake  of  politeness, 
I said  I should  like  to  see  a school. 

My  men  were  at  their  midday  meal,  but  bearers 
were  provided,  and  I was  soon  deposited  in  the 
courtyard  of  an  unpretending  building,  followed  by 
a great  crowd,  which  was  kept  from  pressing  on  me 
by  the  mandarin’s  “lictors.”  The  schoolroom  con- 
tained several  tables,  some  heavy  benches,  a teach- 
er’s chair,  a number  of  “ ink-stones,”  and  thirty-three 
boys,  from  the  ages  of  seven  up  to  fourteen,  who 
were  all  learning  to  read  and  write. 

Near  the  roof  a Confucian  tablet,  surrounded 
by  inscribed  strips  of  red  paper,  stood  in  a niche, 
and  on  one  side  of  the  schoolroom  there  was  a life- 
size  figure  of  the  God  of  Literature,  with  a wooden 
box  half  full  of  ashes  in  front,  in  which  some  in- 
cense sticks  were  smouldering.  The  teacher  was  a 
kindly  looking  old  man  in  conventional  goggles. 
He  had  probably  repeatedly  failed  to  pass  his  lit- 
erary examinations,  and  being  unfit  for  manual 


398  The  Yangtze  Valley 

labour,  had  become  a pedagogue.  He  held  some- 
thing very  like  “ taws  ” in  his  hand,  but  his  pupils 
had  no  unwholesome  awe  of  him. 

The  boys  were  writing  when  I went  in,  i.  e ., 
tracing  printed  ideographs  placed  below  thin  paper 
with  brushes  filled  with  Chinese  ink,  which  they 
rubbed  on  the  ink-stones  as  required.  The  teacher 
went  round,  pointing  out  faults,  and  showing  them 
how  to  hold  their  pens. 

After  this  they  studied,  as  everywhere  in  the 
East,  aloud,  shouting  their  lessons  at  the  top  of 
very  inharmonious  voices,  an  audible  assurance 
relied  on  to  convince  the  teacher  that  they  were 
giving  full  attention  to  their  tasks.  As  soon  as 
any  boy  had  mastered  his  lesson,  he  came  up  to 
the  master  and  stood  with  his  back  towards  him 
while  he  recited,  so  that  the  master  might  be  sure 
that  he  was  not  glancing  at  the  book  which  he  held 
in  his  own  hand.  Mispronunciations  were  corrected. 
What  I saw  constitutes  education  in  such  a school, 
together  with  formal  instruction  in  proprieties  : 
bowing  before  the  tablet  of  Confucius  on  entering 
the  room,  saluting  the  teacher,  etc.  Such  a school 
may  be  called  a primary  school,  and  the  larger  pro- 
portion of  scholars  never  go  any  farther.  In  vil- 
lages and  small  towns  the  parents  pay  from  three 
to  six  dollars  a year  to  the  teacher,  to  which  are 


( From  a Chinese  Drawing) 

day.  A pedagogue  must  be  a man  of  good  repute, 
“ grave,  learned,  and  patient,”  and  well  acquainted 
with  the  Chinese  classics. 

The  monotonous  reading  and  writing  lessons 
and  the  tedium  of  memorising  unmeaning  sounds 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  399 

added  small  presents  of  food  at  stated  intervals. 
The  hours  are  long — from  sunrise  till  ten,  and 
from  eleven  till  five.  Evening  schools  are  occa- 
sionally opened  for  those  who  are  occupied  in  the 


PEDAGOGUE  AND  PUPILS 


400 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

are  continued  for  about  two  years,  and  when  the 
pupils  have  become  familiar  with  a few  thousand 
forms  and  sounds,  then  the  actual  work  of  teach- 
ing begins  ; and  the  pedagogue,  with  the  help  of  a 
commentary,  explains  the  meaning  of  the  words 
one  by  one,  taking  due  care  that  they  are  all 
understood. 

This  system,  as  pursued  in  the  humble  school  at 
Nan-pu,  is  the  basis  of  that  vast  fabric  of  educa- 
tion which  has  made  China  for  two  thousand  years 
what  she  is,  and  has  produced  among  the  Chinese 
a greater  veneration  for  letters  than  exists  in  any 
country  on  earth,  letters  and  literary  degrees,  abso- 
lutely apart  from  the  accidents  of  birth  or  wealth, 
being  the  only  ladder  by  which  a man,  be  he  the 
son  of  prince  or  peasant,  can  attain  official  em- 
ployment, honours,  and  emoluments,  China  being  in 
fact  the  most  truly  democratic  country  in  the  world. 

It  is  easy  to  laugh  at  an  education  which  for 
boys  of  all  ranks  consists  solely  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  ancient  Chinese  classics,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  it  stunts  individuality,  belittles  genius, 
fosters  conceit,  and  produces  incredible  grooviness. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  education,  un- 
less it  might  be  one  strictly  biblical,  which  furnishes 
the  memory  with  so  much  wisdom  for  common  life 
and  so  many  noble  moral  maxims.  Whatever  of 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  4QI 

righteousness,  virtuous  domestic  life,  filial  virtue, 
charity,  propriety,  and  just  dealing  exists  among 
the  Chinese— and  they  do  exist — is  owed  to  the 
permeation  of  the  whole  race  by  the  teaching  of 
the  classics.1 

The  six  school  books  (classics  in  themselves) 
which  are  introductory  to  the  study  of  the  classics 
are,  The  Trimetrical  Classic , arranged  in  1 78  double 
lines,  the  first  of  which  contains  the  much  disputed 
doctrine,  “ Men  at  their  birth  are  by  nature  radi- 
cally good.”  It  inculcates  filial  and  fraternal  du- 
ties, and  much  besides,  as  the  following  extract 
shows  : “ Mutual  affection  of  father  and  son  ; con- 
cord of  man  and  wife ; the  older  brother’s  kind- 
ness ; the  younger  one’s  respect ; order  between 
seniors  and  juniors  ; friendship  among  associates ; 
on  the  prince’s  part  regard  ; on  the  minister’s  true 
loyalty  ; these  ten  moral  duties  are  forever  binding 
among  men.”  This  classic  concludes  with  a num- 
ber of  fascinating  incidents  and  motives  for  learn- 
ing, taken  from  the  lives  of  ancient  sages  and 
statesmen.  If  a boy  never  goes  farther  than  this, 
his  memory  is  stored  with  excellent  examples  and 
principles. 

1 These  are  all  attainable  in  scholarly  translations,  and,  along  with  chap- 
ter ix.  of  Dr.  Wells  Williams’s  invaluable  volumes,  The  Middle  Kingdom , 
should  be  read  by  everyone  who  takes  more  than  a merely  superficial  or 
commercial  interest  in  China. 


402 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

The  second  book  is  the  Century  of  Surnames. 
The  third  is  unique  in  the  world,  the  Millenary , or 
Thousand  Character  Classic , which  consists  of  ex- 
actly 1000  characters,  no  two  of  which  are  alike  in 
meaning  or  form.  It  treats  of  many  important  sub- 
jects, and,  like  the  Trimetrical  Classic , abounds  in 
praises  of  virtue  and  exhortations  to  rectitude.  Its 
text  is  absolutely  familiar  to  all  the  people,  and  a 
Christian  preacher  who  shows  himself  acquainted 
with  it  is  sure  of  an  interested  audience. 

The  fourth  school  classic  is  called  Odes  for  Child- 
ren, and  contains  thirty-four  stanzas  of  four  lines 
each,  chiefly  in  praise  of  literary  life,  such  as  this : 

“ It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  educate  children. 

Do  not  say  that  your  families  are  poor, 

For  those  who  can  handle  well  the  pencil  (pen), 

Go  where  they  will,  need  never  ask  for  favours.” 

In  all  the  school  classics  many  examples  are  given 
of  intelligent  youths  entering  on  life  without  ad- 
vantages, who  by  application,  virtuous  conduct,  and 
industry,  have  raised  themselves  to  the  highest 
offices  in  the  empire. 

The  fifth  school  classic  is  the  Canons  of  Filial 
Duty , a book  of  1903  characters  only,  purporting 
to  be  a report  of  a conversation  between  the  Great 
Teacher  (Confucius)  and  Tsang  Tsan,  a disciple. 
Whether  it  is  actually  what  the  Chinese  believe  it  to 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  403 

be  or  not,  its  influence  has  been  and  is  enormous, 
extending  unweakened  through  a period  of  many 
centuries,  and  laying  by  its  principles  and  max- 
ims the  foundations  of  the  social  order  which  pre- 
vails, not  only  in  China,  but  in  Japan  and  Korea. 
This  paramount  teaching  begins  with  the  sentence, 
“ Filial  duty  is  the  root  of  virtue,  and  the  stem 
from  which  instruction  in  the  moral  principle 
springs.”  It  contains  an  axiom  which  has  great 
weight : “ With  the  same  love  that  they  ” (scholars) 
“serve  their  fathers,  they  should  serve  their  moth- 
ers.” Many  books  have  been  written  to  illustrate 
these  Canons , one  a toy  book,  The  Twenty-four 
Filials,  containing  twenty-four  quaint  and  delightful 
stories  of  filial  devotion.  This  is  a most  popular 
collection  of  tales,  and  the  examples  embroidered 
on  satin,  or  painted  on  silk,  or  coarsely  daubed  on 
paper,  are  to  be  seen  everywhere.1 

The  sixth  and  last  is  the  Siao  Hioh  or  Juvenile 
Instructor , a book  whose  influence  is  estimated  as 
enormous.  It  has  had  fifty  commentators,  one  of 
whom  writes  of  it,  “We  confide  in  the  Siao  Hioh 
as  we  do  in  the  gods,  and  revere  it  as  we  do  our 
parents.”  It  is  in  two  books,  divided  into  twenty 
chapters  and  385  short  sections.  The  first  book 
treats  of  the  elementary  principles  of  education,  of 

1 A translation  of  these  is  given  in  the  Chinese  Repository  (vol.  vi.,  p.  131) 


404 


The  Yangtze  Valley 

the  duties  we  owe  to  ourselves  in  regard  to  de- 
meanour, dress,  food,  and  study,  and  of  the  duties 
which  we  owe  to  our  kindred,  rulers,  and  fellow-men, 
and  it  gives  illustrative  examples  of  the  good  results 
of  obeying  these  maxims,  taken  from  ancient  his- 
tory as  far  down  as  b.c.  249  ! 

The  second  book  seems  somewhat  of  a comment- 
ary on  the  first,  or  an  elaboration  of  it.  It  gives 
a collection  of  virtuous  and  wise  sayings  of  great 
men  who  lived  after  b.c.  200,  and  these  are  followed 
by  a number  of  examples  of  conduct  in  distinguished 
persons,  showing  the  effect  of  good  principles  and 
the  advantage  of  following  the  teachings  of  the  first 
book.  The  most  elaborate  rales  of  etiquette  are 
laid  down  with  a view  of  promoting  mutual  rever- 
ence, and  the  Chinese  of  to-day  receives  his  guests 
at  the  outer  door  and  conducts  them,  with  the  most 
careful  attention,  to  elaborate  rules  of  precedence, 
through  courts,  and  up  flights  of  steps  to  his  guest- 
hall,  he  and  they  moving  their  feet  and  accepting 
or  declining  attention  in  slavish  accordance  with 
the  rales  of  this  ancient  classic. 

The  Chinese  of  to-day,  in  thought,  action,  and 
etiquette,  are  the  product  of  these  school  books.  I 
see  no  possibility  of  spontaneity  so  long  as  educa- 
tion is  solely  on  these  lines.  In  reading  the  trans- 
lations of  these  classics,  in  spite  of  a certain  insistence 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  4°5 

upon  trifles,  and  perhaps  of  exaggeration  of  unim- 
portant points,  I have  been  enormously  impressed 
by  their  admirable  moral  teaching  as  a whole. 
Virtue  is  inculcated  by  precept  and  example  on 
every  page,  and  with  the  solemn  sanctions  of  an- 
tiquity. Deficiencies  there  are,  but  there  is  not  a 
single  thing  in  this  curriculum  which  a man  ought 
not  to  be  the  better  for  learning,  or  one  thing  which 
it  would  be  desirable  for  him  to  forget.  If  he  is 
unable  to  go  farther,  he  is  possessed  of  what  may 
be  called  the  kernel  of  the  best  literature  of  his 
country,  and  his  national  feeling  is  fostered  by  the 
fact  that  the  noble  truths  and  examples  impressed 
on  his  mind  are  not  of  foreign  origin,  but  have 
originated  within  the  frontiers  of  the  Middle  King- 
dom. The  missionaries  show  at  once  their  appre- 
ciation of  the  Chinese  Classics,  as  well  as  a judicious 
desire  to  conserve  Chinese  nationality  and  keep  the 
pathway  to  official  employment  open,  by  giving 
great  prominence  to  this  classical  teaching  in  their 
schools. 

“ Villages  had  their  schools,  and  districts  their 
academies,”  says  the  Book  of  Rites  (b.c.  1200),  and 
I looked  with  reverence  on  the  dirty,  cobwebby 
walls  of  the  little  private  school  at  Nan-pu  as  their 
historical  successor. 

I asked  the  teacher  how  many  of  his  thirty-three 


4°6  - The  Yangtze  Valley 

pupils  were  likely  to  go  on  with  their  education 
and  compete  at  the  examinations,  and  he  replied, 
“ Three,”  holding  up  three  fingers,  on  one  of  which 
was  a carefully  tended  nail  an  inch  and  a half  long, 
that  there  might  be  no  mistake.  The  parents  of 
the  pupils  were  poor,  and  would  not  be  able  to 
keep  them  at  school  for  more  than  three  years  at 
the  outside,  while  shopkeepers,  farmers,  and  coun- 
try gentlemen  would  not  keep  them  there  more 
than  five  years  unless  they  meant  to  go  on  to  the 
literary  examinations.  In  the  case  of  these  well- 
to-do  persons,  several  families  living  in  the  same 
street  hire  a well-qualified  teacher  at  a stipulated 
salary  to  teach  their  boys,  and  the  instruction  is 
given  in  light,  well-aired  rooms.  In  such  a school 
as  I spent  an  hour  in,  the  teacher  provides  and  fur- 
nishes the  room  according  to  the  number  and  posi- 
tion of  his  pupils.  On  a boy  entering  a school  he 
receives  his  shu-ming, , or  “ book-name,”  by  which 
he  is  known  during  his  future. life. 

If  I have  conveyed  what  I wish  to  convey, 
clearly,  It  will  be  evident  that  Chinese  education  in 
the  primary  schools  is  limited  to  the  teaching  of 
virtue,  duty,  and  etiquette.  There  Is  no  provision 
for  developing  the  intellectual  powers,  nor  has 
general  learning  any  place.  There  is  a complete 
want  of  symmetry  in. the  mental  training,  but  if  it 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  4 °7 

fails  to  form  broad  and  well-balanced  minds,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  exaggeration  is  in  the 
best  direction  in  which  distortion  could  occur. 

That  night  I felt  profound  regret  at  conclud- 
ing the  first  stage  of  my  journey,  and  the  soft, 
dreamy  sunshine  of  the  next  day  increased  it.  The 
country  is  soft  in  its  features,  and  very  pretty  and 
prosperous-looking,  abounding  in  industries,  and 
consequently  in  villages  and  small  towns,  and  pro- 
duces everything  that  is  good  for  food.  The  road 
adheres  pretty  closely  to  the  valley  of  the  Chia- 
ling,  which  we  ferried  twice.  Its  water  is  trans- 
lucent, and  of  an  exquisitely  beautiful  peacock 
green.  It  is  one  of  the  great  arteries  of  commerce 
of  the  Yangtze  Valley,  and  though,  like  the  Yangtze, 
obstructed  by  rapids  and  given  to  the  produc- 
tion of  great  sandbanks,  specially  below  Paoning 
Fu,  it  and  its  affluents  afford  invaluable  means  of 
communication. 

This  river,  uniting  with  the  Yangtze  at  Chung- 
king after  receiving  such  fine  tributaries  as  the  Ku, 
the  Fu,  and  the  Pai-shui,  is  navigable  for  boats  of 
5000  catties  up  to  the  flourishing  little  town  of 
Pai-shui-Chiang,  actually  over  the  border  of  Kan- 
suh,  and  over  500  miles  by  water  from  Chungking. 
These  big  boats  trade  chiefly  with  Nan-pu,  which 
produces  salt,  taking  salt  up  and  bringing  coal 


408  The  Yangtze  Valley 

down.  There  are  smaller  boats  carrying  2000  cat- 
ties,  of  which  I saw  many,  which  go  right  down  to 
Chunking,  carrying  Kansuh  tobacco,  sheepskins, 
furs,  and  medicines.  Mr.  Litton,  of  H.B.M.’s 
Consular  Service,  saw  seventy  boats  at  one  time 
moored  off  the  city  of  Kuang  Yuen,  near  the 
frontier  of  Kansuh. 

The  country  is  much  affected  by  the  great  sand- 
banks formed  by  the  river,  which  become  bound 
together  by  the  fibrous  roots  of  a sword-grass,  and 
alter  the  channel,  forming,  after  a few  years  of  de- 
posit, fine  arable  land.  The  road  I travelled  from 
Heh-shuitang,  after  skirting  the  Chia-ling  at  a 
great  height  for  many  miles,  under  cliffs  abounding 
in  recessed  temples,  in  which  groups  of  divinities 
carved  in  the  rock  receive  hourly  worship  from 
wayfarers,  enters  Paoning  Fu  by  a pontoon  bridge 
about  130  yards  long. 

After  the  treelessness  of  much  of  the  region  I 
had  traversed,  and  the  comparatively  poor  soil  and 
inferior  dwellings,  the  view  of  Paoning  and  its  sur- 
roundings was  most  charming  in  the  soft  afternoon 
sunshine.  Built  on  rich  alluvium,  surrounded  on 
three  sides  by  a bend  of  the  river,  with  temple 
roofs  and  gate  towers  rising  out  of  dense  greenery 
and  a pink  mist  of  peach  blossom,  with  fair  and 
fertile  country  rolling  up  to  mountains  in  the  north, 


Hsieh-Tien-Tze  to  Paoning  Fu  409 

dissolving  in  a blue  haze,  and  with  the  peacock- 
green  water  of  the  Chia-ling  for  a foreground,  the 
first  view  of  this  important  city  was  truly  attractive. 

In  the  distance  appeared  two  Chinese  gentle- 
men, one  stout,  the  other  tall  and  slender,  whose 


RECESSED  DIVINITIES,  CHIA-LING  RIVER 

walk  as  they  approached  gave  me  a suspicion  that 
they  were  foreigners,  and  they  proved  to  be  Bishop 
Cassels,  our  youngest  and  one  of  our  latest  conse- 
crated bishops,  and  his  coadjutor,  Mr.  Williams, 
formerly  vicar  of  St.  Stephen’s,  Leeds,  who  had 
come  to  welcome  me.  We  ferried  the  Chia-ling, 


410  The  Yangtze  Valley 

and  passing  “through  attractive  suburbs,  either 
green  lanes  with  hedges,  trees,  and  vegetable  gar- 
dens, or  narrow  flagged  roads,  very  clean,  bounded 
by  roofed  walls  and  handsome  gateways  of  private 
houses,  we  reached  the  China  Inland  Mission  build- 
ings, consisting  of  a neat  church,  very  humble 
Chinese  houses  for  the  married  and  bachelor  mis- 
sionaries, guest-rooms,  and  servants’  quarters,  all 
cheerful,  but  greatly  lacking  privacy.  This  was  a 
pleasant  halt  after  a journey  of  300  miles  without 
a really  untoward  incident,  except  the  riot  at 
Liang-shan. 


BOOKS  OF  TRAVEL 


Camping  in  the  Canadian  Rockies 

An  Account  of  Camp  Life  in  the  Wilder  Parts  of  the  Canadian 
Rocky  Mountains,  together  with  a Description  of  the 
Region  about  Banff,  Lake  Louise,  and  Glacier,  and  a Sketch 
of  the  Early  Explorations.  By  Walter  Dwight  Wilcox. 
With  25  full-page  photogravures,  and  many  text  illustra- 
tions from  photographs  by  the  author.  Second  edition, 
with  map.  Large  8°,  gilt  top,  $3.00. 

“ Mr.  Wilcox’s  work  will  be  a treat  to  the  general  reader,  for  adventure, 
science,  history,  sport,  mountain-climbing,  natural  history,  and  the  varied 
experiences  of  camp  life  are  all  depicted  with  the  skill  of  a fine  descriptive 
writer  and  the  verve  of  a man  in  love  with  the  life  he  tells  about.” — The 
Chicago  Evening  Post. 

Two  Women  in  the  Klondike 

The  Story  of  a Journey  to  the  Gold-Fields  of  Alaska.  By 
Mary  E.  Hitchcock.  With  a map  of  Alaska  and  over 
100  illustrations  from  photographs.  8°,  $3.00. 

The  volume  presents  the  record  of  a journey  undertaken  in  the  summer 
of  1898  to  the  gold-fields  of  Alaska.  Mrs.  Hitchcock’s  journal  is  a faithful 
record  of  her  experiences,  and  is  written  in  a vivacious  manner  and  is  full  of 
interesting  incidents.  The  volume  is  enriched  by  over  too  illustrations,  and 
will  contain  an  authoritative  map  of  Alaska,  showing  the  trails  and  steam- 
boat routes  to  the  gold-fields. 

Alaska 

Its  History  and  Resources,  Gold-Fields,  Routes,  and  Scenery. 
By  Miner  Bruce.  Second  edition,  revised  and  enlarged. 
With  62  illustrations  and  six  folding  maps.  8°,  $2.50. 

Mr.  Miner  Bruce  is  an  authority  on  Alaska,  having  travelled  for  ten 
years  in  the  territory  in  the  interest  of  the  government  and  also  in  connection 
with  private  enterprises.  He  has  had,  therefore,  ample  opportunity  to  ex- 
plore the  country,  and  his  experience  has  enabled  him  to  write  upon  this 
subject  in  an  interesting  and  authoritative  manner. 

Mr.  Bruce’s  volume  includes  a brief  history  of  the  territory,  together 
with  detailed  information  concerning  its  resources,  these  comprising  among 
other  things,  minerals,  fur,  timber,  and  fish.  The  work  also  contains  a full 
description  of  the  various  mining  camps  and  the  routes  thither.  Practical 
suggestions  are  given  which  will  prove  of  great  value  to  those  who  may  be 
planning  to  engage  in  prospecting,  and  also  to  those  who  may  wish  to  visit 
Alaska,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  marvellous  scenery  offered  by  its  mountains  and 
rivers,  its  glaciers  and  lakes,  and  the  interest  always  attaching  to  life  in 
mining  districts,  especially  when,  coupled  with  this,  there  is  opportunity  of 
studying  native  character  and  conditions. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS.  New  York  and  London 


BOOKS  OF  TRAVEL 


The  Yangtze  Valley  and  Beyond 

An  Account  of  Journeys  in  China,  chiefly  in  the 
Province  of  Sze  Chuan,  and  among  the  Man-Tze 
of  the  Somo  Territory.  By  Isabella  L.  Bird 
(Mrs.  Bishop),  F.R.G.S.,  author  of  “Unbeaten 
Tracks  in  Japan,”  “A  Lady’s  Life  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,”  “The  Hawaiian  Archipelago,”  etc- 
With  map  and  116  illustrations  from  photographs 
by  the  author.  2 vols.,  8°,  $6.00. 

A Prisoner  of  the  Khaleefa 

Twelve  Years’  Captivity  at  Omdurman.  By  Charles 
Neufeld.  With  36  illustrations.  8°,  $4.00 

This  very  important  book  gives  Mr.  Neufeld’s  own  account  of 
his  experiences  during  his  twelve  years’  captivity  at  Omdurman.  He 
set  out  from  Cairo  in  1887  on  a trading  expedition  to  Kordofan,  but 
was  betrayed  by  his  Arab  guides  into  the  hands  of  the  Dervishes,  and 
carried  by  his  captors  to  the  Khaleefa  at  Omdurman.  There  he  was 
thrown  into  prison,  loaded  with  fetters,  led  out  for  execution,  and 
threatened  with  instant  death  unless  he  would  embrace  the  tenets  of 
Mahdism,  but  was  spared  for  reasons  of  the  Khaleefa’s  own,  and 
kept  a close  prisoner.  He  gives  the  most  vivid  account  of  his  life  in 
the  prison,  of  his  fellow-prisoners,  of  the  Khaleefa’s  government, 
and  of  his  own  attempts  to  escape. 

Quaint  Corners  of  Ancient  Empires 

Southern  India,  Burma,  and  Manila.  By  Michael 
Myers  Shoemaker,  author  of  “ Islands  of  the 
Southern  Seas,”  etc.  Fully  illustrated.  8°,  $2.25 

In  this  new  volume  the  author  takes  his  readers  on  a flying  trip 
through  Southern  India  and  Burma — those  relics  of  ancient  empires 
which  are  fast  changing  under  the  swift  progress  of  civilization. 
From  Burma  Mr.  Shoemaker  went  to  Manila,  and  was  able  to 
gather  much  interesting  material  concerning  this  section  of  the 
Philippines.  No  spot  upon  the  globe  is  of  more  interest  to  Ameri- 
cans at  the  present  day  than  Manila,  and  it  is  essential  that  the  real 
condition  of  things  should  be  clearly  understood. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS,  New  York  and  London 


